Tonight's picture was taken in April of 2007. I went digging through my files last night to find this photo. I could recall it but wasn't sure what year it was taken. My mom saw the photos of cherry trees that I posted yesterday on the blog and commented that she wished she could see them. I reminded her that she not only saw our DC cherry trees but viewed them with Mattie.
Quote of the day: Your time is your life. That is why the greatest gift you can give someone is your time. It is not enough to just say relationships are important; we must prove it by investing time in them. Words alone are worthless… Relationships take time and effort, and the best way to spell love is “T-I-M-E.” ~ Rick Warren
I very much stand behind the sentiments of tonight's quote. Words are important but giving of your time is what separates an average relationship from a meaningful one. The investment of our self sounds easier said than done. We are all very busy and running in different directions, but there are times when I do see that someone is either alone or wants to talk, so I stop. I maybe frustrated internally at first by this, but I then let it go.
Such an issue with time happened today! As we approach Foundation Walk season, I am more guarded with my time. Sunny takes up a good chunk of my day walking, so I have to factor that into my daily schedule. This morning I headed to the dentist. Most people would metro or uber there given its distance, but I walk. It is about a two mile walk each way. After that adventure, I got home and Sunny was begging for a walk. So out I went again and walked for another 90 minutes. Sunny can move at a clip and my thinking was we were going to walk quickly and return. However, once out of our building, I could hear my neighbor calling my name. My neighbor is an adult with special needs. I have known him for over a decade as he even would visit me when Mattie was alive. My neighbor likes talking to me and spending time with me. I am not deducing this, it outright tells me!
In any case, my neighbor decided to join us for our walk. I wasn't planning on this, and walking is typically a time when I do a lot of brainstorming for the Foundation. It is my private time to be outside and not to be mentally disturbed. Other than navigating the streets of DC. My neighbor doesn't walk as fast as Sunny or me, so we had to slow down and of course have conversation. Initially I was upset by this, but as we kept going I let that feeling dissipate as clearly my neighbor was lonely and was looking for an activity.
The funny part of all of this is my neighbor isn't used to walking so far. So I feel confident we gave him some exercise and time outside in our beautiful close to 80 degree weather. Yet one thing my neighbor can acknowledge which many cognitively intact people can't, is the loss of Mattie, and how this changes one's life. My neighbor lost his mom recently, who he was very close with, and from that loss he has learned the feelings of living with a forever loss. Working with people who have special needs can be challenging, frustrating, and overwhelming, yet I have found that people with special needs are very in tune for the most part to feelings and emotions and can communicate in ways so many of us can't. So at the end of the day, I maybe still working tonight because my schedule got pushed back, but taking the TIME to be present with those in our lives has intangible rewards.
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