Saturday, February 25, 2023

Saturday, February 25, 2023

Tonight's picture was taken in February of 2009. Mattie was isolated to his room because of a potential contagious virus. While we were awaiting his test results, he wasn't allowed out of the room. I can't tell you what a torture that was, to be locked into a two by four of a room. To help break up the isolation, Linda (Mattie's child life specialist) and Anna (Mattie's physical therapist) came into the room to get Mattie moving. As you can see they were working on stomping on a pedal which sent off a toy rocket into the air. Notice that Brandon, Mattie's cancer buddy, was standing in the doorway. He wasn't allowed into the room, but he was there for moral support and cheering! 

Quote of the day: The purpose of life is not to win. The purpose of life is to grow and to share. When you come to look back on all that you have done in life, you will get more satisfaction from the pleasure you brought to other people’s lives than you will from the times that you outdid and defeated them. ~ Harold Kushner

This is an Andromeda plant. It is already blooming in our garden! Rather funny, since we had snow showers today!

After I got myself downstairs this morning to make breakfast, my mom was screaming for me from upstairs. I had to stop what I was doing to find out what was going on! When I got upstairs, she was frantic. I asked her what was going on and she couldn't even put it into words. I then noticed that her phone was one and it looked like she had made a call and someone was on the other line. I asked her who she was talking to, and she couldn't respond. So we hung up on that call. She got herself worked up about the fact that she thought she owed money to a credit card company. It turns out she continues to overpay bills and therefore they owe her money. 

I have tried to offer to take over all my parent's bills and financial things, but my mom won't have it. So instead, I have to actively monitor and oversee everything that she does. Of course after my typical morning routine with my parents, I then proceed to do Foundation work. While I am working (which never lasts for long), this photo shows a typical occurrence. I find that 45 minutes of physical therapy on Fridays wears my mom out completely. She is exhausted for many days later, and of course if you ask her, she has no insight into the fact that she sleeps days away. 

Meanwhile, I washed my parents electric blanket that is on their bed. As soon as I put the fresh blanket back on the bed, Indie hopped up and made herself comfortable. 

Sunny got groomed today! It isn't one of his favorite activities, but it is very necessary. Especially being on daily chemo. 

Today one of my friends had to put her dog, Max, to sleep. Tina had Max since he was a puppy. They grew up together and he was an integral member of her household. As a fellow dog owner and someone who knew Max quite well, I am deeply saddened by this loss. 

I can't imagine life without Sunny and it saddens me that Tina is now faced with this heartbreaking loss. In fact, I bet anyone reading this is a dog owner, understands what Tina is facing today, and the next day, and the next day after that. Dogs leave an indelible mark in our hearts. They are so intuitive. They know what is missing in our lives and they cleverly find a way to provide exactly what we need.