Monday, September 7, 2020

Monday, September 7, 2020

Tonight's picture was taken in September of 2008. Mattie was two months into treatment and was home between infusions. That day, Mattie's very close preschool buddy, Zachary, came over. Zachary brought Mattie this Indiana Jones hat. As you can see they were having a good time together acting out their own adventures  in our living room. Zachary and Mattie were inseparable in preschool. They met each other on the first day of school back in 2005, and practically every day after school, they either played in the school's playground or had a play date. Their play involved running around, climbing things, and so forth. However, once Mattie developed bone cancer, his ability to do the physical things he once did ended. That could have impacted their friendship, but it didn't. Zachary found a way to play with Mattie in a new way, and frankly I learned a lot about friendship from watching these two boys together. 

Quote of the day: Today's coronavirus update from Johns Hopkins.

• number of people diagnoses with the virus: 6,292,206
• number of people who died from the virus: 189,095

This is the photo of my dad's leg today. Though it looks red and inflamed, I can see the improvement. It gives me confidence that we are moving in the right direction. Thankfully my parents sought out a second opinion about this on Friday before the long weekend. 

This morning, Peter suggested we have breakfast outside on our balcony. It was the perfect weather day, so we did it. Sunny was thrilled by the prospect, as he got a scrambled egg and even tried a piece of an English muffin with jam that Peter's mom made. Sunny loved it!

It is hard to believe that tomorrow will be the 11th anniversary of Mattie's death. Our goal is to visit Mattie's trees tomorrow and to hang butterfly ornaments on them. My mom sent me 20 butterflies two years ago, and I just got to converting them into ornaments today!

Meanwhile, I snapped some photographs of our neighborhood. We live in an area that is supported by the George Washington University, the State Department and the Kennedy Center. Yet the amount of graffiti and homelessness is running rampant. Tents are everywhere as our city gives out tents to the homeless. I think they should use the money they spend on tents and instead invest it into programs that actually work. As the filth, garbage, and hygiene issues around us are sickening. 

This is our neighborhood CVS. If you look to the left, you will see a homeless man sleeping out front. The homeless are in front of this store throughout the day. 

This is our park near where we live. It is filled with tents. We are absolutely surrounded and residents in the city have no recourse or options. 

For Peter and I, this is a very sad week. As we face another year without Mattie. Yet we are further influenced by our surroundings. Which are equally sad and depressed.