Some things in our lives seem to be consistent now. Such as Mattie not falling asleep until midnight, and then Mattie waking up at 4am to come and find us. I can almost plan my night around the midnight to 4am sleep-wake cycle, which would be rather funny really if we weren't so tired. Because we go to bed so late, and then do not sleep consistency through the night, we wake up much later now in the morning. This morning Mattie had a visit from his SSSAS buddy, Campbell and his mom, Christine. Campbell and Mattie have gotten to know each other quite well this year, and are really good play buddies, as they both like to use their imagination to build and create. Below you will see the boys busy with legos and then creating stuffed animal bridges around Mattie's lionel train tracks. For us, this has been a wonderful weekend of normalcy and it was great to see Mattie so animated with his buddies.
Christine, thank you for all the tasty goodies you brought us. Sugar and chocolates are my drugs of choice during stressful times! Adding to the supply is always appreciated! I find in the midst of trying to be a mom and learning how to be Florence Nightingale, I sometimes forget that I am also a friend. I guess I don't feel like much of a friend these days, because I am too busy trying to stay afloat. But 
Christine told me that she missed me at school, and that even though we don't see each other as often as we used to, she thanked me for my friendship. She said I continue to be a big part of her life. Well that is just about the nicest thing a person could say to another person! Thank you!
Christine told me that she missed me at school, and that even though we don't see each other as often as we used to, she thanked me for my friendship. She said I continue to be a big part of her life. Well that is just about the nicest thing a person could say to another person! Thank you! Before Campbell left today, we had a visit from our resident Jack Russell Terrier, JJ. JJ was bearing gifts from Dunkin Donuts. JJ gave both Campbell and Mattie a vanilla frosted donut. Needless to say, JJ became extra popular and the kids devoured the donuts! Thanks JJ, you have excellent taste!
We offered Mattie the opportunity to go for a walk or to do anything he wanted this afternoon, but he chose to stay home with Peter and do some low key things. I have a feeling Mattie on some level is gearing up for his hospital visit tomorrow. Peter and I are trying to get more efficient with what we bring to the hospital, and we have said good-bye to schlepping bags to actually designing portable shelving units that are labeled by contents. It may sound over the top in organization, but believe me when you have to quickly get yourself in and out of a hospital room, we need to be organized and efficient. We shall see how all this planning works. But I am telling you all of this because Mattie is cognizant that this means tomorrow is a hospital day!
In the midst of packing and laundry, my parents took me out to lunch today. Again, it was very special to just leave the house and eat like a normal adult, without constant interruptions. I will savor my saturday and sunday experience for sure, as we head to spend the week in the hospital. Later this evening, we had a visit from Eva, a consultant who worked with Peter during his BearingPoint days at the American Red Cross. Eva, thank you for a wonderful dinner! Mattie LOVES your applesauce cake! In fact, he started with the cake before he had dinner. Normally this wouldn't be the way things work here, but at this point, anything that Mattie wants to eat is MY new BEST FRIEND! Mattie continues to lose weight, and in my opinion he doesn't have that much reserves to pull from to begin with.
Mattie received a lovely prayer card from Dr. Sylvia Marotta (GW Department Chair of Counseling), and a mass will be said in Mattie's honor at Holy Trinity in Georgetown. Mattie was scheduled to start CCD classes at Holy Trinity this fall, but you can all imagine what happened with that plan. Thank you Sylvia for thinking of Mattie! I also received an e-mail today from my mother-in-law, Barbara. Barbara let me know that her local Baptist Church includes Mattie in their prayers every Sunday. I know how many of you have Mattie on prayer lists around the country, and that you say a prayer for him each day. It is my hope that God is hearing us and will continue to look after Mattie during each stage of this process.
On the electronic front, thank you Barbsie (for the knock knock joke), Gail McLay (Mattie's former assistant head of the lower school at SSSAS, writing us all the way from Australia), Jackie, Zachary, Alex (a brother of one of Mattie's SSSAS classmates, who wants to volunteer at the carwash fundraiser), Susan, Ashlee (one of Vicki's fine students), and Coach Dave (glad the Saints won the game!) for your great e-mails. Thank you Kim, Karen, and Charlotte for your great e-cards. I leave you tonight with an e-card Mattie received. He received this card from both Susan S. and Charlotte, and it has become our mantra! It is SO perfect for Mattie (because of his interest in donuts)! "One donut a day, and everything will be okay." I think Dunkin Donuts should change its slogan! Click below!
www.hallmark.com/ECardWeb/ECV.jsp?a=EG0238162924399M271830588Y&product_id=
1 comment:
Dearest Vicki,Pete and Mattie,
It's music to my ears to hear that you had a few moments of "normalcy" and got to go out to lunch--even for a short time!
Thank you for continuing to share your day to day--I can only imagine how hard it must be to do all of this on so little sleep! You continue to amaze all of us!
I pray that this week will be even just a tad easier than the previous treatments. Here's to a good night for all of you.
Much love,
Amany
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