Tonight's picture was taken in March of 2009. Mattie was home between hospital stays and Peter and him worked on Legos for hours and HOURS! Mattie was very happy to create a Lego village in our living room. Mattie could play with Legos for hours and in all reality, they were our life line to normalcy. They provided us the necessary diversion from cancer, to work as a family and just be ourselves. I can't tell you how much conversation occurred during these times. I think the activity of building enabled Mattie to let his guard down and just be a kid.
Quote of the day: In nature, nothing is perfect and everything is perfect. Trees can be contorted, bent in weird ways, and they're still beautiful. ~ Alice Walker
This morning I made the decision to send my dad back to his memory care program. He is basically stabilized and not coughing. His energy level is lower than ever and I feel it is crucial to get him moving and re-engaged with the world, before he can't! It was my hope that I could get my mom moving and outside too! It has been 8 days of being isolated at home, with non-stop cleaning, cooking, and managing symptoms and demands.
Mid-day, I got my mom in to the car and took her to Starbucks. She loves having tea and snacks at our local store. We managed in the store for about one hour. After which, she developed a coughing fit and was coughing up yellow junk. So I removed her and took her right home. Today was her last day of antibiotics and I have already alerted her doctor that she may need more support. My mom suffered from pneumonia and sepsis years ago when I was in college. She got that sick because she was caregiving for her mother. Since that bout of pneumonia and hospitalization, she is quite fragile when it comes to colds and respiratory infections. While my dad is returning back to normal, my mom is still struggling.
This afternoon, I had just about enough. After I got my parents settled in the family room, I encouraged Peter and I to get outside and go for a walk. Prior to my parents moving in, I could walk miles and miles a day! Now unfortunately they have depleted me. I get more tired and I don't have the energy I once did to walk. This is very depressing to me. We did get out and walked over two miles, but it is clear to me that I need a walking routine, both for my physical and mental health.
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