Sunday, October 13, 2024

Sunday, October 13, 2024

Tonight's picture was taken in October of 2004. Mattie was two and a half years old and that day we went to the George Washington University for a community Halloween event. Several of my students were coordinating this event and they invited Mattie. As you can see, that year Mattie was Winnie the Pooh. He was the cutest Pooh! At the fair, there were games, balloon animals, food, and they were gifting free children's books. Mattie chose a book featuring the character, Franklin the turtle. This was a series he loved watching on TV, so he naturally gravitated to the book. You can see Mattie was animated, listening to the story, and trying to chime in as I read! 

Quote of the day: Don’t feel sad over someone who gave up on you, feel sorry for them because they gave up on someone who would have never given up on them.  ~ Frank Ocean

I read Frank Ocean's quote tonight, and I literally said, AMEN! This is me to a fault. If I love you and you are a part of my world, I don't walk away. EVER. It is not in my nature. In fact, even if treated poorly, I will dig deep to understand why this is happening, and try to repair the problem. I don't give up on people I care about and therefore, I guess that is why it is so hard for me to understand what is happening in my marriage. Since I assumed we both shared this core value. 

I mentioned on this blog that I have befriended a woman in England. We met each other through a support group. We communicate daily. Literally we are living a parallel life right now, and we never met each other (well other than in a virtual group, of which I lasted only two sessions). She and I understand each other and wake up and go to bed each day in total disbelief that this is our life. It doesn't bring me happiness that she is walking this same path, but it does help to have a person who gets the deep betrayal, pain, and heartache. Because we are facing similar issues, we can easily bounce things off each other, and we help one another see things as they are, or with a different lens. 

Today was 80 degrees. I could have been inside and working on my continuing education. But I didn't! There aren't going to be many more beautiful weather days like this ahead, so I went out on the porch for thirty minutes. It saddens me that neither of my parents love being outside. 

I wasn't outside alone, Indie was happy to come with me. She loves outdoor time, but since she is an escape artist, I will not allow her outside without constant supervision. 

I took my parents out to brunch today and Cheryl, our amazing server, gave me this Halloween/Fall themed gift. We have known Cheryl, since my parents moved East in 2021. So that is three years now, and she knows about my journey and I know all about her family. As you can see Cheryl knows that I love sunflowers!