Thursday, September 2, 2021Tonight's photo was taken in August of 2007. Every August we took Mattie to Los Angeles to visit with my parents. Typically we would venture to San Diego for a weekend and take Mattie to Sea World and Legoland. Mattie absolutely LOVED Legoland and as you can see while at the park, we took a photo with a life sized Lego man!
Quote of the day: Today's coronavirus update from Johns Hopkins.
- Number of people diagnosed with the virus: 39,543,191
- Number of people who died with the virus: 643,593
We NEED your VOTE to win $10,000! Please register today.... it is free. The on-line "Take the Plunge" event is only an hour long and after you hear from Mattie Miracle and four other non-profits, the audience votes. The greatest number of votes, helps us qualify to win $10,000!
Register, watch, and VOTE on September 9th from 8-9pmEDT. It is that simple! If we win this $10,000 grant this will enable us to start a new initiative..... a psychosocial referral and resource program to link families coping with childhood cancer to qualified mental health providers in the community.
I started my day by visiting the dermatologist, as I get a yearly skin check for cancers. When I arrived today, the office was surprise to see me. They said that I called earlier this morning to cancel my appointment. They said that I reported to have just received my COVID vaccine and was having a reaction, and wasn't feeling well. I am STUNNED and went ballistic. First of all I did not call the office and second I had my vaccines months ago! They got snappy with me, saying how were they supposed to know that this wasn't really me on the phone?! The better question is who is calling a doctor's office pretending to be me?!
In any case, they made room for me. When I finally got to see the doctor, the doctor wanted to know what I was going to do this Labor Day weekend. So I told her that I just moved from DC to Northern Virginia, and therefore am busy unpacking. Given the wonderful part of the city I lived in, she wanted to know why I moved. I explained that my parents are moving in with me, and I needed a bigger home. Her next comment made me pause and really it reminded me that we can't look at things from our own lens when talking with others. We really need to know where the other person is coming from. The doctor said.... how exciting to be moving and so nice that your parents can live with you and not in a nursing home. If I felt closer to this doctor, or if I had the emotional energy right now (which I don't), I would have corrected her. NOT all moves are positive and produce excitement and second not all older adults are in need of a nursing home. Clearly she is biased about moving and about older adults. Gives me great insights on her. Thankfully I am seeing her about skin and not emotional support.
It is hard to believe that 27 years ago we walked into this townhouse for the first time and transformed it from an empty space into our home.
I can't believe how empty our kitchen looks. I tend to be an organized person and love things to be clean. In fact, unless things are organized and clean, I feel uneasy. Despite my maintenance of the townhouse, I still had lots to clean today.
While cleaning, throwing out garbage, and packing the car with the remaining items, I ran into some of our neighbors. One family in particular we have known for years. They are three brothers, and one of whom has special needs. It is the brother with special needs who has a close relationship with me. His other brothers said that he is devastated that I am leaving. So today I told them we need to meet up with each other on a regular basis. We may be moving, but we aren't relocating to another state.
Our living and dining room. When Peter and I first moved into the townhouse, we spent our first night sleeping on the dining room floor. Our dining room table was a box! It was so many years ago, but it was just like yesterday.
In fact, while cleaning the townhouse today, I felt like I was watching a movie in my head, as each room has so many memories. Our joke used to be when Mattie was a baby, that there was NOT even one spot in our home that he hadn't vomited on!
I used to call our living room.... my room with a view. Our stairs today. But they used to look like..............
This! Mattie loved climbing on the railing of the staircase and always lined his shoes on the stairs!Our bedroom is completely cleared out. Mattie's room. Other people may move in after us, but to me this will always be Mattie's room. I can picture Mattie sleeping and playing in this room.The bathroom Mattie and I shared.Today, I took my wedding bouquet and threw it out. I had it all these years, but the flowers were falling apart, and this represents a completely different part of my life.
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