A Graduation Weekend

I am at 34,000 feet on my way to SFO after a most pleasant weekend in Washington DC.

Maurice graduated from George Mason Law School on Saturday. Proud momma Ingrid and grandparents Maria and Jochim from Munich were there. So too friends Scott and Kathrine. And me.

It was a very nice event and afterwards, we joined two other grads for a very pleasant party. It was a beautiful party room, part of a new condominium complex. You could see the relief on Maurice's face as he came to realize that school was done.

Several times during Maurice' three years, he and Mary talked about surviving law school. I think Mary really enjoyed the mentoring. And, as Ingrid reminded me, Mary said many times she wanted to attend.

I was glad I could be there -- living life for both of us now.

Pictured, L to R, Scott & Kathrine from Peoria, proud mama Ingrid, the new lawyer Maurice, Pat, and grandparents Maria & Jochim from Munich.

Farmers in DC

As part of my DC weekend, I had dinner with Sandy and Bernie on Friday and brunch with Hank and Kathy today, Sunday.

This was arranged after I arrived in DC and realized they lived locally! Duh!

I want to thank them for making time for me on such short notice. Friday was Peking duck and today was Monmartre--French brunch. No escargot, Mary would have been disappointed!

And we made plans for me to join the already scheduled July get together.

Museum Event

Michele and Glen invited me to join them at the San Jose Museum of Art for a fun event tonight.  The museum has a select group of donors that they convene each year over wine and appetizers to "select" a piece to be put in the permanent holdings.  The wine was good, the appetizers too.  There were four items to select from and the members of the group voted on who was in and who was out...sort of an American Idol process for artwork, I guess.

Of the four pieces, Michele, Glen, Siobhan (another friend of Michele's) and I picked one as our favorite and a 2nd as back up.  Well, out of the four pieces, we picked the losers!  So much for our taste in art.  It was a nice event in a great venue so we had fun overall.

I had to leave work at 5PM to arrive at the vet to pick up our patient, Shawna.  Once home, I fed both dogs, put them in the dog run and then headed to the Museum event.  A full evening. 

Work was uneventful but very busy.  Someone said that nothing was really done while I was gone, rather, things were set aside until my return, hence the frantic pace right now as things get "caught up." My email in-basket reflects that situation. 

LOST MY PARTNER blog: reflections by e. raymond rock: now that she's gone

I surfed the web a bit tonight looking for information on grieving and loss. I found this blog entry and I want to share it with you.

http://www.lostmypartnerblog.com/2009/10/reflections-by-e-raymond-rock-now-that.html#links

It made me cry, really cry. I cannot tell express how close it is to my own feelings.

First Day Back at Work

Today started with a trip to the vet to drop off Shawna who has a cornea infection and needs meds every two hours.  From there, it was over to pick up Chris and Casey at her Mom's as they were heading to the airport for the return trip to Denver.  All in all, I got to work about 9:30AM.  

Today was my "re-entry" day.  And, fortunately, it was quite busy with little time to become maudlin.  Co-workers expressed their sympathies and that is always greatly appreciated. No one overdid it so I managed to hold it together virtually all day. 

MaryR, good friend that she is, was able to pick up Shawna who is being day boarded at the vet's so they can apply the eye medicine every two hours.  Tomorrow, I need to be able to get home in time because MaryR is back to work and I need to recover the dog!  

I still have very little appetite. I ate some leftovers from the party on Saturday for dinner.  A coworker took me to lunch and I had a shrimp salad.  I am also not sleeping soundly or for very long. I find myself unable to fall asleep and then I awake before the alarm sounds off. I am hoping that will change as I become more tired by being at work and as time heals the pain from the loss of my beloved. 

Where do I read about Mary's battle with cancer?

My original website that is now dedicated to Mary's last 13 months of life can be found by clicking the tab at the top of this blog, entitled, "Mary's Battle with Cancer." 

On that website you will find a variety of entries about Mary's cholangiocarcinoma journey.  The most information is found by clicking the link at the top of the text that says "Click on this blog link for detailed information."  At the bottom of that site you will find links to our photos as well.

My first entry

My intention is to use this blog so those who want to know what I am doing can keep in touch.  

I have a 2nd blog which is Mary's story.  You can read the story of her battle with cancer by clicking on the words above "Where is?" Her story will end with the Celebration of her life on May 8, 2010. The Celebration is a party I am hosting 30 days after her death from cancer as she requested in her last letter to me. 

She ended that letter with the words, "Last but not least, Patrick, embrace life for me. You have to live for both of us now."  I don't know if I will be able to actively maintain this blog, but my intentions are to to write about the emotions I feel and document the things I do "... to live for both of us now."