Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Tuesday, August 23, 2011 -- Mattie died 102 weeks ago today.

Tonight's picture was taken in September of 2007. Peter took Mattie out on the Potomac River and was teaching him how to row a boat. On that particular day, they both invited me along for the experience. I am happy that I had these moments and also captured them on camera. I am not sure most people would bring along a camera on a row boat, but if Mattie was with me, so was the camera!


Quote of the day: What we have once enjoyed we can never lose. All that we love deeply becomes a part of us. ~  Helen Keller

An absolutely brilliant quote! Mattie was a part of us biologically, but even in his death, he remains a vital part of our lives. Despite the fact that today marks the 102nd week Mattie has been gone from our lives, his life, love, and personality remain fresh in our minds and hearts. As time marches on, we still remember and NO it doesn't get easier. Time does NOT heal all wounds and this is just one of many cliches I can't stand.

Peter and I are completely sleep deprived. For over a week, there has been road repairs going on outside our bedroom window. The repairs begin at 9pm and they go through 3 or 4am. The machines are LOUD and the lights they use are bright. All I know is if I don't get some sleep soon, things here won't be pleasant. 

I met with Mary's caregiver, Shayla, today. We ventured to her college to ask specific questions about her program of study and the next steps she needs to take to become a nurse. I have spent the majority of my life in some sort of educational setting that I can safely say I feel very comfortable navigating in such an environment. I guess I don't realize these skills, until I am placed in such a situation like I was today. Shayla and I had a very productive visit and I can say that I am definitely learning a great deal about the educational requirements to become a nurse.

This afternoon, I met up with Ann, Tanja, and their families for lunch. It was a pleasant lunch, until 1:50pm. At first I didn't know what was happening to us. I began to feel dizzy, which for me isn't unusual, since I still feel moments where I am motion sick from the cruise. Even now! Since the DC area typically doesn't get earthquakes, my initial thought was something hit the building or we were under attack. However, I quickly recognized the feeling having gone through several earthquakes while attending high school in Los Angeles. As we were shaking and rolling, Ann and I looked at each other, and we knew we were experiencing an earthquake. However, those around us unfamiliar with the feeling were simply besides themselves. One restaurant employee was so disturbed by this feeling, that she had to leave work because she was having a break down from fear. The scary part about all of this is the panic around us. No one here is prepared for an earthquake, and worse most people have no idea how to protect one's self from a quake. Ann and I were directing people to go under tables. Standing in a door jam wasn't possible, since the door was surrounded by glass in our case.

Of course the initial fear is HOW long will this last? Or will we experience aftershocks?  The  quake measured a 5.8 on the Richter scale and was centered near Richmond. However, it was felt throughout the D.C. metro region and over a large part of the eastern U.S (Karen felt it in NY and Peter's brother felt it in Boston!). Fortunately the area did not receive much damage or injuries. The one part of this whole experience that was daunting was we had NO cell phone coverage for about 20 minutes post-quake. Thankfully emails and text messages went through and Peter and I were able to communicate with each other. He was in DC, and most DC buildings were evacuated today. Though I couldn't call Peter, my parents were able to call me and they were the ones filling me in on the extent of the earthquake. Ironic since they were calling from California! In Los Angeles, I remember having earthquake drills in school, just like most kids are used to fire drills. It is my hope that schools in this area begin to prepare students for such a crisis on campus, since we know that quakes do happen here.

I found this website that streams photos from DC and NY. The photos capture earthquake damage and reactions. I found them very moving and decided to include this link tonight. Just click on the pictures at the bottom of this link to see the photo display. As Tuesdays are earth shattering for us, it seems most appropriate that this earthquake would happen today.

Local photos of earthquake damage and reactions:
http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Major-Monuments-Closed-in-DC-for-Quake-128275528.html