Sunday, May 23, 2021

Sunday, May 23, 2021

Tonight's picture was taken in May of 2009. That day we took Mattie outside to the second floor outdoor area of the hospital. We brought Mattie out there to participate in a physical therapy session. Next to Mattie was Anna, Mattie's physical therapist. I took this photo because I think it captured the negotiations between Mattie and Anna quite well. Anna may have wanted Mattie to do something, but he always had a different idea up his sleeve. Anna is a great PT, because she was able to absorb what Mattie was saying or feeling, and adapt her exercises to what he presented. They were a great team together! 

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

• Number of people diagnosed with the virus: 33,114,388
• Number of people who died from the virus: 589,855 

All my married life, Peter has been an early riser. Now he and the animals are up at 5 or 5:30am. This has never been my hour. Peter snapped this photo today of his coffee buddies. 

We spent some time in Oakton today, trying to become a bit more familiar with the neighborhood and what's around us. Peter will catch up quick, I on the other hand will take months if not years to get the hang of a new place. I am not a person who embraces change and given we have lived in our current location for 26 years, I am not jumping for joy to be leaving. 

After we walked Sunny in Oakton, we came home and went downstairs to the complex's storage unit so I could assess what we have down there! The complex provides free storage to residents. Which is very generous, but for someone like me, that meant I kept a lot of things over the years. Things I most likely should have donated years ago. One of the items we found was this Christmas pyramid. It is a wooden handicraft that was made by skilled artisans in the Erzgebirge mountain region of Germany. This Christmas decoration belonged to Peter's grandmother, who handed it down to Peter's mom, who handed it down to us (years ago!). I remember seeing this centerpiece in motion at my in-law's home like it were yesterday. I always admired it. But frankly I forgot Peter's mom gave it to me. When I saw it today, it made me sad. Well maybe sad and mad. Mostly because I feel like I suffer from arrested development. In my mind, I expected to have many family gatherings, with Mattie, and using this centerpiece. IT NEVER HAPPENED, and NOW IT NEVER WILL. Sad and mad! 

In storage, I also had wrapped up photographs and frames. This photo was taken in 1998. That Christmas, all of Peter's family came to California and stayed with my parents. Peter's grandmother talked about this adventure for years! If you look closely, my mom was holding Allie, our family cat. 

Our wedding and bridal party in 1995!

I frankly forgot about this photo and engraved frame until I saw it today. It was taken in 2000. Back then I was the graduate assistant for the counseling department at the university. One of my assignments was to plan a reunion party for all alums and students at a national professional conference held in Washington, DC. It was an enormous undertaking, but I did it, basically on my own. It was from my experiences as a graduate student that I really learned the art of reaching out to people and planning big events. A skill I have needed for Mattie Miracle. 

Our wedding day with my parents. 

Formal night on one of the cruises we took together. Another sad reality, as we will not be going on anymore cruises as a family again. 

Another formal night on a cruise ship. I am so glad we captured these moments when we did.