Tonight's picture was taken in April of 2004. Mattie was two years old. That day we took him to the National Zoo! As you can see, this was not a posed photo, but a tender moment that was naturally captured between Mattie and me. Mattie loved going to the zoo, as he enjoyed being outside and was intrigued by the animals. He was my little explorer and loved adventure.
Quote of the day: Hard times arouse an instinctive desire for authenticity. ~ Coco Chanel
If you have been following along, then you know I have had issues with my pool since last summer. Part of it needed to be completely resurfaced and I finally tackled that this month. However, I have been dealing with water level drops in the pool for the past two weeks. This morning, just like every morning, I went outside to measure water levels. This is day two, where the water level has remained stable. I am hoping this is a trend and that I have now solved and corrected the problem!
After doing my morning chores with my dad, I went upstairs and vacuumed and cleaned bathrooms. After which, I took my parents out for lunch. We have been going to the same restaurant every Sunday since my parents moved here in 2021. So much so, that I know all the managers and many of the servers. Though we got to the restaurant at 2pm today, we did not leave until 5:30pm. For some reason, managers and servers wanted to chat with me. One by one, each came over to me to chat. I heard about trips, struggles, the purchasing of a new house, financial struggles, relationship issues, and so forth. In essence the many ups and down that all of us face.
When it was time to leave the restaurant, I paused and reflected..... this is me. My other half, used to call me a people magnet! Today's visits is not usual for me. I have a long history of making connections with people and frankly I do not care who you are, what you do, what your educational level is, where you live, and so forth..... if you are part of my life in some way, then you are important to me, and I want to get to know you.
I love Coco Chanel's quote, because I think being authentic is crucial. Not just in hard times, but always. I believe honesty, integrity, and acting consistently are defining characteristics of mine, and ironically regardless of what I have endured and survived, these characteristics remain.
