Today is Monday, January 8, 2024
National Clean Your Desk Day
On this day in history…
1935- American popular singer and film star Elvis Presley is born. He will be widely known as the King of Rock and Roll and will be one of that genre’s dominant performers.
Good News
What better way to start the week than with a bit of good news? Enjoy this recent news story found on the Good News Network.
Spotlight Photo
Who couldn’t benefit from an Emotional Support Chicken? You smiled when you saw it, right? See, it has already given your emotions a favorable boost.
Quote of the Week
Happily Ever After
https://www.everafterphotographypnw.com/
Ever After Photography PNW is owned and operated by photographer extraordinaire, Mira Nachtigall. Mira specializes in birth, maternity, and newborn photography. She shares her art each week to help beautify the My Monday Memo. Mira and Rachel’s friendship spans back to 2007 in Las Vegas. They now reside very close in Washington.
Now & Then
Oh, Brady, how you have grown. Once an adorable little baby (pictured right, taken July 27th), only months later he is a handsome boy (pictured left, taken November 16th) Notice his size compared to the statue.
Feline Tomfoolery
with Brady & Belichick
35 Weeks Old
- Brady- Would the human like it if we took pictures of her licking her chops?
- Beli- I think not. She would be mortified.
- Brady- She better eat with one eye open.
- Beli- How great is it that our human brother, Alec, is fostering a fellow feline!
- Brady- It’s great! Tortellini is one handsome guy. Mom says he’s around one and has some damage to his ear.
- Beli- Alec told mom that Tortellini has several health issues and that he is trying out a new Purina cat food that is supposed to help with his cat allergies.
- Brady- So he’s testing this out on Tortellini?
- Beli- Yep, he really wants a cat of his own but has to be sure his allergies won’t be a problem.
- Brady- Our human brother is such a cool cat lover.
Donate Blood, Save Lives- #6
Donation number six is in the bank, literally. The blood bank, that is. Rachel gave her sixth blood donation on December 28th. She again donated at the Western State Psychiatric Hospital in Lakewood, Washington. This time around, Bob, an older gentleman, handled her intake and draw. Bob was funny and very good at his job.
At the last donation, Rachel had gone into it a bit dehydrated, and was well aware ahead of time that it may be an issue. It certainly was in that it took her more than 12 minutes to complete her donation. She has been regularly in the six-minute range. Also at the last donation, she met Joe, a fellow blood donor. Joe had jokingly challenged her to a race and said that he would undoubtably beat Rachel. Oh boy did he. Joe donated in under five minutes that day. Rachel was lucky enough to run into Joe again at this donation, but he arrived just as she was finishing up. They joked with each other as she finished, and he began. He ensured her that he would again beat her, even when she finished in record time at 5.26 minutes.
Rachel and Joe will meet again at the next donation, and she will learn how he did after she left. Then once again, the challenge will be on. She just needs to figure out his secret to speedy blood flow.
Word of the Day
Will you find it?
As a fun challenge each week, Rachel visits Merriam-Webster’s Word of the Day when she sits down to write her weekly story. Whatever the word of that particular day happens to be, she must find a way to fit it into her story. Will you find it?
DILIGENT
Merriam-Webster’s Word of the Day on Wednesday, January 3, 2024
Meaning
Someone or something described as diligent is characterized by steady, earnest, and energetic effort.
Story of the Week
A Trip Down Memory Lane
It was today, January 8, but in 2018, that Rachel arrived in her new home of Washington. That makes today her sixth anniversary, and she couldn’t be happier with her decision to relocate. It was November of 2011 when Rachel took a last-minute Thanksgiving weekend trip to Seattle and fell in love with Washington. For anyone that doesn’t know the story, it went a little something like this…
Rachel’s boys, Blake and Alec, would be spending Thanksgiving with their dad and stepmom in 2011, and Rachel’s boss informed her that she would be required to take the Wednesday prior to the holiday off, in addition to the holiday and that Friday. Five days off without the boys… No way would she maintain sanity in the small town of Mesquite, Nevada, where there isn’t much of anything to do. She had to skip town. It was only about a week prior to the holiday, she Googled “cheap flights,” and Seattle came up with a deal. Why not, she thought? She’d never been to the Pacific Northwest but did love rain. The flight was booked.
During her long weekend in Seattle, she walked from one end of downtown to the other multiple times. She loved the rain, the views of the water, and the overall feel of the area. She enjoyed people watching and browsing through shops. She spent hours at Pike Place Market and visited the Space Needle both during the day and at night. She visited several tourist attractions and took tours. When she returned home, she told her boys that once Alec, her youngest, was off to college, she would be relocating to Washington. “Okay, mom.” She told everyone of her plan but was largely dismissed. Why did nobody take her seriously? Over the next several years, she did diligent research.
The following October in 2012, Rachel’s Patriots and Alec’s Seahawks would face off in Seattle. Blake declined the trip, but Rachel and Alec headed to Seattle for the weekend. What a game. It was close until the end when the Seahawks pulled out the win in the last minute of play with a final score of 24-23. Rachel had the opportunity to show Alec everything she loved, so far, about Washington.
Fast forward five years to 2017. Blake was stationed in Pheonix with the Air Force and Alec graduated high school that June. In July, Rachel headed to Washington for a week to scout out her future home, as her desire to relocate to Washington never wavered. In August, she dropped Alec off at the University of Utah. She spent the next three months preparing to move. With the help of her cousin Jimmy, she made a three-day drive in a 12-foot U-Haul, towing her car, arriving in University Place, Washington safe and sound on January 8, 2018.
As stated in the My Monday Memo welcome page, her first year was full of trials and tribulations. She had to adjust to life as an empty nester (she missed her boys terribly), she had no friends in Washington, and she began a work-from-home job and had no socialization. How would she meet people. She eventually joined the local YMCA and met a group of ladies but would only see them at the YMCA. Then, that fall, her father passed away. It was a year full of new beginnings and sad endings.
She is happy to report that she has since acclimated very well and has several friends in Washington. She still misses her boys terribly. If only she could figure out how to get them to relocate close to her someday. For now, she will have to settle for visits. Rachel looks forward to her continued exploration of Washington and plans to enjoy many more adventures. Until next time, be well.
A throwback photo of Rachel’s dad and stepmom, affectionally known as Momma P, with the boys when Alec was just a newborn in 1999.
A photo at Point Ruston, one of Rachel’s favorite places to take walks. Mount Rainier is usually visible from this path.
Seasons! Rachel had forgotten how beautiful the change of seasons could be having spent the last 15 years in Southern Nevada.
Christmas 2018, both boys spent the holiday in Washington with their mom. This was a special time, as her father had just passed two weeks prior.
During their Christmastime visit, they attended the Chiefs vs Seahawks game. Blake holds Sweet Baby Patrick Mahomes inside of that hand-made heart.
Sweet Honey. Honey was adopted a few weeks after Rachel’s arrival in Washington. Honey was an older feline with health issues. She would pass away in March of 2021 following a set of neurologic episodes. Rachel was thankful for her companionship, especially during 2020.
