Tonight's picture was taken in February of 2009. This was an incredibly special moment in time. Mattie had so much going on medically and psychosocially, that the notion that he would spend two hours in the child life playroom to create me a box filled with Valentine's and a crown of hearts was truly extraordinary. These are gifts and moments together I will never forget. On this upcoming Valentine's, I miss my littlest Valentine.
Quote of the day: The whole glorious history of animals with people is about joy and connection. It’s about loving this creature and letting this creature love you. ~ Jon Katz
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Twice a month, my wonderful cleaning ladies visit our home. I have known one of these women since 2008. We go back a long way together and she knows all about Mattie's cancer diagnosis and death. When they visit the house, I have to get up super early in order to get my dad washed, dressed and downstairs before they come. My alarm goes off starting at 5am on these days. I literally dragged myself out of bed at 5:45am, and started the process which entailed feeding Indie, getting on my coat to get my mom's paper at the end of the driveway, and then making myself tea. This is my ONE perk in my day. I take the tea upstairs with me and sip it while getting showered and dressed.
Like yesterday, my mom again came into my bedroom. Seemly disoriented. At 7am, she wanted to know what I was doing! She was clearly confused about the time the cleaning ladies were arriving. They typically come at 8:30am, but she thought instead they were coming at 7am.
I shared my day with Karen, my lifetime friend, and she was exhausted just listening to what I accomplished. I will sum it up for you...
- Got up at 5:45am, fed Indie
- Retrieved the newspaper.
- Made tea.
- Took a shower and got dressed.
- Made breakfast for everyone.
- Vacuumed up parts of the first floor.
- Cleaned all kitchen counters.
- Cleaned out litter box and vacuumed around it.
- Got my dad up.
- Made their bed.
- Got him showered and dressed. Which entails applying powder, lotion, shaving, brushing his teeth, and getting him clothed.
- Assisted my dad down the steps and got him to the breakfast table.
- Started laundry and threw out trash.
- Cleaned up breakfast dishes.
- Got my dad in the car and took him to his memory care center.
- Went to the local gas station to get one of our car's a safety inspection and emissions test.
- Came home and learned our whole Wifi system was down. FREAKED OUT!
- Got my mom in the car and started chores. I drove to Arlington, VA (about 40 minutes each way) to go to our Mattie Miracle mailbox.
- Spoke to postal people, who I love, about our mailbox and collected all mail.
- Drove back home and took my mom for tea and a snack.
- Then came home, folded laundry, straightened up the house after it had been cleaned, and processed personal and Foundation mail.
- Got back in the car and picked my dad up at the memory care center.
- Came home and returned emails.
- Started dinner, served dinner, and cleaned dishes.
- Brought garbage bins to the curb.
- The LIST goes on, but you get the picture of what a typical day in the Farm entails.
Now with this ridiculous day, it is NO WONDER that I completely forgot that my mom had a PT appointment at our home at noon! The poor therapist. He was texting and calling me! I apologized profusely for NOT being home, because I typically am not this scattered. But given what I juggle in any given day, it is amazing I function at all.
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