Sunday, March 31, 2024

Sunday, March 31, 2024

Tonight's picture was taken on Easter of 2009. We were in the hospital and friends from Mattie's school came that day and hosted an Easter egg hunt for Mattie in the pediatric unit hallways. They knew Mattie did not like candy, so they filled the eggs with all sort of toys. One friend pushed Mattie in his wheelchair and the other encouraged and cheered as he pointed and found the hidden eggs! This may not sound like a big deal, but when stuck in a hospital, friends coming to do such an activity felt like we won the lottery. I will never forget all the many acts of kindness we received throughout Mattie's journey. 

Quote of the day: What’s one thing that we have in our lives that we can depend on? A dog or a cat loving us unconditionally, every day, very faithfully. ~ Jon Katz

This afternoon, I took my parents out for Easter lunch. Each Sunday we dine at the same restaurant and have gotten to know our server and the managers very well. This restaurant has a tradition of having an Easter Bunny greet guests and take photos. This is something I tried to do with Mattie over the years. My mom snapped this photo of me today. 

Typically I would cook holiday meals at home and invite over friends if I was in town. This year, I am literally going through the motions of living day to day. Celebrating Easter, was not on my mind or in my heart. 

Easter 2006! Different restaurant, but part of the same restaurant group! Mattie did not know what to make out of that big bunny. At first he was a bit scared. But once I explained that this was a friendly bunny, who was there to wish him a Happy Easter..... Mattie then agreed to take a photo. 

Since I love food, this is my one highlight in my life, that still hasn't changed. I started with this lovely spring salad that had a lemon basil vinaigrette. 

Then we all had ham, with string beans and au gratin potatoes. This ham was fantastic. Clearly a farm raised ham, so tender and juicy. A spring treat for sure. 

My mom and I split a Tres Leches. Basically a sponge cake soaked in three different types of milk. It was light and delicious. 

Eating with my parents is an experience. Gone are the days where we could sit and chat. Given my dad's dementia, he can no long track or engage in conversation. So literally he just sits there, looking hollow, or he eats, or you will find his head down and sleeping at the table. Truly if I really let all of this absorb into my head, I would be so depressed, I couldn't function. 

Meanwhile, my mom is glued to her phone. Not unlike a teenager. She can get lost in emails and Facebook. I do not like such distractions at the table or while trying to eat and have family time. But I have given up on this issue. If my mom is bored or disinterested in the conversation around her, out comes the phone. 

Since today was a nicer weather day, temperature wise, I decided to tackle reattaching the garden hoses to the water spigots and then going inside the house and open up the shut off valves. I watched the plumber winterize our hose bibs in the Fall, so I tried to reverse the process today. Remember I have NEVER done this before. Not here or anywhere else. So dealing with anything for the first time is always difficult because I never know if what I am doing is correct. 

The hard part was reattaching the houses to the water spigots. I thought it would be easy to do. Just simply insert the hose and turn it appropriately until was secure. Forget it! I had to locate wrenches and worked on it for an hour until I finally got all three hoses reattached. Truthfully I was ready to give up. But I took some deep breaths and figured that they were once attached, so there should be no reason why I couldn't get this to work. I was correct! One thing I am, and that is persistent. 

Turning on the shut off valves inside the house was easy, I just got scared as I heard water running through the walls. Needless to say, I have checked and rechecked to make sure nothing is leaking. So I would say, I think I accomplished another task I never thought I would be able to do. 

Out of the blue today, I heard from someone I used to work with on the Washington, DC licensure board. Remember I held that position for 15 years. This staff member wrote to wish me a happy Easter. In her message (mind you she has no idea what I am dealing with), she wanted me to know that I am one of the strongest women she knows, with great integrity, who helped her during one of her darkest times. She has never forgotten this and wanted to reach out today to remind me. Honestly this message meant the world to me, because what she reminded me is that indeed, I carry myself with the utmost of honesty, integrity, and freely share my love and support to those I care about. Her message was my unexpected Easter gift.