Friday, October 13, 2023

Friday, October 13, 2023

Tonight's picture was taken in October of 2005. Mattie was three years old. This was CLASSIC Mattie! I have no idea why, but he loved to paint with his feet. It was rather ironic, since as a toddler he strongly disliked sand and water. He wasn't a fan of the sensation. But when it came to paint, the messier the better. I can't tell you how many cards and other creations we made from Mattie's talented feet! Now looking at this, I am sure you think that paint got everywhere! But Mattie understood that he needed to stay on the drop cloth! When he was done painting, he'd put his hands up in the air and I would carry him to the kitchen sink to get cleaned up! We were quite a team.

Quote of the day: There is no grief like the grief that does not speak. ~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

My dad did not go to his memory care program today because I had to take him in the early afternoon to his foot doctor appointment. Not running around this morning, enabled me to focus on Foundation work for just a bit of time. Gone are the days when I used to spend hours in front of the computer, making professional connections and feeling involved in something larger than what's going on inside my home. 

But with caregiving, it takes on a life of its own and becomes all consuming. I learned this first hand at many points in my life. When my grandmother had a stroke while I was in college. Her illness was an eye opener for me at a young age, and I saw the debilitating consequences of caregiving on my mother's health. After all, when I was in college, I learned my mom was rushed to the ER and was admitted to the ICU, for WEEKS! Her nurse told me to come home from college because she may not make it. She contracted sepsis and it was clear this was because of being worn down physically from caregiving, which ultimately compromised her immunity. 

From that lesson, I then learned the challenges of motherhood. Add to that having Mattie diagnosed with cancer and then dying. Now I am once again in the throes of caregiving, for my aging parents. Each of these caregiving journeys has influenced me, changed my view of the world, how I see the people around me, and most importantly, I see the research that I conducted so many years ago on caregivers, playing out in my own life. 

This afternoon, I was sent this photo from the SIOP conference in Ottawa, Canada. This researcher is from Austria! Look closely at the screen. You may need to click on the photo to enlarge the image. 

Long story short.... it features our Psychosocial Standards of Care, with Mattie's 'Mr. Sun' painting on the front cover. In fact, along with the message today, was sent this caption....

"Look at what a WORLDWIDE impact Mattie is making!"

After a full day of running around, I took Sunny out for an evening walk. There are several things I love about evening walks. The first is most people are inside. So there is more peace and quiet. Second, I like seeing lights. I am not a big Halloween fan, but many houses have their decorations out. I will have to go around the neighborhood and snap some photos, because I see more ghoulish stuff this year than I remember in the past. 

I love seeing the pumpkins and all the orange, but could do without the fake tombstones and coffins!