Tuesday, May 21, 2024

Tuesday, May 21, 2024 -- Mattie died 764 weeks ago today.

Tonight's picture was taken in May of 2007. It was Mattie's first day of summer camp at his preschool. Mattie was excited about the experience and wasn't thrilled that I was holding up the process to take a photo! But in usual Mattie fashion, he complied as he knew my love of capturing photos of our time together. All I can say is thank goodness I was obsessed with taking photos, because they are the only things I have left. Literally and figuratively. 

Quote of the day: Heaven doesn’t ignore cries of a broken heart. ~ Toba Beta

It was quite the day. I have a neighbor who, for the last ten months, has been doing a massive renovation project of her house. For the most part I have taken a deep breath because I understand the inconvenience of construction. But today was the last straw. I had to take my dad to his memory care program and I literally couldn't get out of my driveway. A huge dump truck was blocking the driveway and the entire cul de sac. It wasn't my finest moment. I sent a text message to the lead contractor of the issue. He came running over to assist, but by that time, I was fit to be tied. 

I got my dad to his memory care center and then came home to contact the county. I truly have no idea what rights residents have regarding these issues. Bottom line, after making several calls, residents have NO recourse. If the project is permitted and there isn't anything egregious going on, then the county isn't interested in hearing from you. I am learning a lot about all sorts of laws this year. 

I have a lot of post-Walk admin to do and got about two hours of it done this morning. But then my mom alerted me that she scheduled a call with someone at 1pm and I had to be on the call. This was news to me, as I thought this was a social call she scheduled. Needless to say, I am so stressed out that I truly do not appreciate more tasks added to my plate. But I complied. 

This evening, after prepping dinner, I went outside to trim back our rose garden. I was there for about 45 minutes. I still need to go at it, but it looks a lot better than it did! Peter created this garden for me soon after we moved in. I love roses and have committed myself to keeping our outside beautiful. I am out there practically daily weeding, watering, and nurturing the gardens. 

Tomorrow I am headed for MRIs. I got a call from the hospital this morning alerting me that they will not do all three MRIs tomorrow because they do not want to expose me to all that contrast at one time. So I will do two MRIs tomorrow and one in June. Given the fact that I have bouts of dizziness and fluttering in my ears, the doctor feels it is important to understand what's going on. My mom insists on coming with me, which makes things more stressful for me, because I can't focus on my own needs. I literally am prepping snacks and a bag for her tomorrow while she waits for me. Despite the fact that I asked her to stay home, she won't. 

Three things I am grateful for:

1. My garden filled with beautiful colors that only nature can produce. 

2. The new garden hoses (copper bullet hoses!)! I know silly, but they make watering things so much easier, than dragging around those heavy hoses that kink. 

3. A chocolate cupcake!