Monday, September 2, 2024

Monday, September 2, 2024

Tonight's picture was taken in August of 2008. Mattie was in his first month of treatment and his art therapists and child life specialist were on the case and working hard at figuring out Mattie's personality, his likes and dislikes, and providing activities to keep him engaged, active, and with the necessary diversions to cope with living 24/7 in a hospital. Thankfully Mattie loved working with his hands, because during his 14 month hospitalization, Mattie painted, built with cardboard boxes, did hundreds of Lego kits, and worked with clay. Mattie was very prolific and I am thankful for all of the items he created, as they serve as important parts of his legacy. 

Quote of the day: Stab the body and it heals, but injure the heart and the wound lasts a lifetime. ~ Mineko Iwasaki

As today was a holiday, I had my dad home from his memory care center. His physical therapist came to work with him at 1pm. Any activity for my dad is a GOOD activity, as I am desperate to keep him moving and as strong as possible. Because I had a good chunk of the morning at home, I was able to work on Foundation items that I had been trying to get to for some time now. During the week, when my dad is at his memory care center, I do NOT get a break, because by a certain hour my mom wants to go out. Which makes it close to impossible for me to be able to work, focus, and concentrate during the day light hours. Which is why if I have serious work to do, I have to wait until after 10pm, when my parents are in bed, to have undivided time to myself. 

My friend in England, who I met in an on-line support group in the fall, communicates with me daily. She gave me this passage today, because she felt it would inspire me, and remind me that the work that I do each day, is not for naught. That the work it done so that I can whether the storm. It is a poignant story, because I do feel like I am constantly struggling to stay afloat, and to manage the various crises I am hit with each week. My joke, after reading this passage was..... I need a "labourer." Or maybe a few!

If you can't read the passage in the photo, here is what it says:

Before hiring a new worker, the farmer asked what he could do. "I can sleep through a storm," the laborer said. It didn't make any sense to the farmer but he needed a worker and, for the next few months, the man was perfectly capable. Then a storm struck in the middle of the night. The farmer jumped out of bed and ran into the rain. He banged on the door of the laborer's cottage but got no answer, so he ran off to try to minimize the damage the storm would cause. But he found the animals were in the barn, the machinery and tools were stowed away, all the doors were locked, and the thatched roof the laborer had repaired was riding out the storm nicely. Then he understood. The laborer could sleep through a storm, whenever it arrived, because he knew he had done his work properly. Storms come in all walks of life. Do your best during the day and you will always sleep well at night.