Saturday, July 11, 2026

Saturday, July 11, 2026

Tonight's picture was taken in July of 2009. Next to Mattie was Brandon and Jocelyn, Mattie's closest buddies. That day Brandon was celebrating his 19th birthday! Remember that Mattie was 7, and yet he related to Brandon and Jocelyn and not the other kids closer to his age at the hospital. What I do know is Brandon was an amazing friend to Mattie. Even when he completed his cancer treatment, he came to the hospital to visit Mattie (and he lived over an hour away from the hospital) and the day Mattie died, Brandon was in the room with us as we had an impromptu wake around Mattie. I learned a lot from Mattie's special friendships. 

Quote of the day: Trust is the bedrock of intimacy; it is the ability to rely on someone because you believe that he or she has your best interest at heart. ~ Chana Levitan

There are days when my reality hits more so than others. Weekends are particularly hard. As there is not as much structure to our Saturdays and Sundays. It is in these moments, when I can't help but miss my other half and our life and history together. This July 15th would have been our 31st wedding anniversary, and we dated 7 years prior to that, so in essence a lifetime together. In moments when I am overwhelmed, I garden. I spent two hours outside trimming bushes and pulling weeds. 

One of the wonderful features of the garden is this bubbler fountain. The previous owner installed it and I LOVE it! So do the birds. I enjoy hearing the water, and find that sound alone so therapeutic. The motor of this fountain died last year and I was in a panic about how to fix this problem. But Steve (my lawn care guru) replaced the motor and got a powerful one so that I could hear the cascading water. 

 

Despite the heat, the garden is thriving. 

In the spring of 2025, I bought a geranium plant at Lowe's. It did so well last summer, that I brought the pot inside for the winter and the plant continued to thrive. So I brought it back outside for the summer. Can you see how big this plant has gotten? On either side of the germanium are poinsettias! Here is the funny story about this.... typically I kill these plants before Christmas is over. But I now have four poinsettias that are thriving from year to year! 

My basil is in this big barrel planter and the wall hosts my other herbs (mint, chive, oregano, thyme, and rosemary)! When I was married, we also grew vegetables. Now I can't look at a vegetable in a garden without thinking of what my life used to look like. Needless to say, I will never be growing a vegetable in my garden. 

My rose garden, planted for me by my other half. When we bought this house, there were many parts of the backyard that needed thoughtful reimaging. This was one of those areas!

This area of the garden was also a runaway nightmare. We corrected that! Now I have roses growing there, along with lilacs and irises! All of this is my therapy, where I check my problems, fears, and worries at the door, and just absorb the greenery and beauty.