Monday, February 14, 2022

Monday, February 14, 2022

Tonight's picture was taken in February of 2009. I will never forget this moment in time, and this has to be one of my favorite photos. It is because this wasn't posed, it was naturally happening and was captured by Mattie's art therapist, Jenny. That day Mattie worked on several Valentine's Day surprises for me. Including this crown of hearts. What I absolutely LOVE about this photo was that Jenny caught a typical Mattie move, in which he would touch nose to nose with me and look deeply into my eyes. I could try to describe this on the blog, but to me a picture speaks a thousand words!

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

• Number of people diagnosed with the virus: 77,902,529
• Number of people who died from the virus: 922,273

This morning my dad's occupational therapist came over. Next week will be the LAST sessions he will get for physical, occupational and speech therapy THANKS TO MEDICARE. Honestly, their thinking is severely flawed, and how they think family caregivers will take over these exercises is hysterical. Naturally I will do it, but I also know my PLATE is already quite full! Medicare doesn't care about me or caregivers in general. 

For the past week, my dad has worked himself up into a silly over getting a real ID for himself, a driver's license for my mom, and to transfer their car's title to my name. Peter did all the paperwork and we booked DMV appointments for them today and took them. However, the anxiety of all of this happening was too much for my dad. Therefore translating..... he was over the top for us. 

The DMV in Chantilly, VA is an amazing experience! This is our second time there and everyone is kind, helpful, and professional. Very user friendly, unlike any nightmare experience I ever had in Washington, DC. Going to the DMV in Washington, DC was never pleasant and very stressful. My parents got everything they needed done today in less than thirty minutes. Naturally my dad was sitting for most of this time, and I was managing his process, and also checked in on my mom's process. Given that we were in separate windowed areas, I was running back and forth. But the license plate on my parent's car will now read, MOOOSH! This is what Peter and I used to call Mattie. Given that Mattie was taken in Virginia, MOOOSH seemed appropriate. 

After the DMV appointments, we went out for lunch. The highlight of my day was this red velvet cake. I assure you, sugar is necessary, given all that I am balancing. 

Shortly after getting to the restaurant, my dad said he had to go to the bathroom. While escorting him to the bathroom, he started screaming to MOVE QUICKLY. I knew what that meant. As soon as we walked into the ladies room, he started cursing, because he had an accident in his pants. Not a pleasant thing to deal with and clean up. But I come prepared with my bag. I am like Mary Poppins. Between the big bag and my purse, I am like a walking store! I think two years of managing my dad has worn my mom out physically and emotionally. She is fragile and he is a handful. Together it is the perfect storm with no end in sight.