Tonight's picture was taken last February in the childlife playroom of Georgetown University Hospital. Two things to note. Sitting on Mattie's wheelchair behind him, is a teddy bear. He received this teddy bear from United Airlines employees who came to visit the children at the hospital. Mattie kept the bear on his chair for that entire admission. The other object to note is the beautiful box sitting in front of Mattie. This is one of the many wonderful boxed creations Mattie made while in the hospital. Mattie was always attracted to bright and bold colors, and he decided to put stickers, pipe cleaners, and pom poms on this particular box. I also love the expression on Mattie's face in this picture. Almost as if he caught someone watching him and he wanted them to know he caught them!
Poem of the day: Into a World Without You by Gale Massey
The day you died a cold embrace of air swallowed me
and every drop of warm blood drained from my heart.
The words, spoken out loud, clanged like deafening bells inside my head.
Leaving me as hollow as a half remembered dream.
I ache at every sunrise, sunset and memory of you.I thought I heard you in the other room.
It was just a curtain caught in a breeze.I want to find you, smell your skin, touch your hair.
These things, once so real, lie beyond my reach.
I want to bend this reality to make you stand beside me again.
I cannot stop the world from turning.
Days pass from that point in time where you left us.
I cannot go and find you.Ten thousand winds can’t carry me to where you’ve gone.
Death has a grip that is unyielding.
And time flows like a tide that will not be stayed.
This is what I understand, I am learning.
Yesterday I smiled
watching a baby take his very first step.
Into a world without you.
What passed between us lives in my bones and it is all that remains.
Just like many of our readers who live in the Washington, DC region, we were trapped at home today. As if we did not have enough snow already, we received close to another foot today. In addition to the snow there are incredible winds blowing the snow everywhere. I have lived in DC for 15 years, and I have never experienced a set of storms like this week's. As I look out our window, which faces the famous Route 66, I see NO movement. Very few cars, and certainly no buses or people walking. All we see today is snow plow after snow plow driving by. Unfortunately even with all the plowing, we can still barely see the roads. Peter is working from home today, and between conference calls, he is jumping outside to shovel our deck and walk areas. When he came back inside earlier, his whole face was wind burnt, which says something about the extreme temperatures and winds.
Since we were captured inside, I used today to be productive. I have uploaded daily pictures to the blog, so that while I am away, it will be easier for me to make postings. Only I, as the administrator of the blog, can see these photos right now, but I assure you I have compiled some wonderful photos of Mattie from February 2009, that I will be sharing with you over the course of next week. I am still trying to locate my spring and summer clothes to take on our vacation. When Mattie was ill, my level of organization went right out the window, and I have not had the desire to re-establish sanity in my home. So packing right now for me is a monumental task, which is why it will take me this entire week to get it together.
I took some pictures of the snow that I wanted to share with you. The picture on the left, shows Peter outside on our deck attempting to catch up with shoveling. The picture on the right, I snapped from Mattie's bedroom window. I think it says volumes about the snow accumulation!
The picture on the left was taken from our bedroom window. It is a picture of Route 66. Unfortunately you can barely see this highway. If you can't see this major highway, you can only imagine what the side streets look like. I end tonight's posting with a message from my friend, Charlie. Charlie wrote, "Well, it's another day in DC/MD/VA snow. When I looked out early this morning it looked like a blizzard. We also made it to the store yesterday (we hiked over) and all the fresh produce bins were empty as were the milk, eggs and much of the dairy sections. It looked like the pictures we used to see coming out of the USSR. People are definitely getting a little crazy from being house bound. I know this is very difficult for you; you can't get out and visit with anyone or even go for a walk, you are there with all Mattie's things and the memories they invoke; I hope you can focus on the more positive ones if possible. I can't get out to class (I have not been there for a week now) but as I practice at home I will try to find the serenity and peace in the falling snow and send it on to you. You remain as always in my thoughts."
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