Tonight's picture was taken in September of 2008. Mattie was in his second month of receiving chemotherapy. In the picture, you can see that Mattie is in his PICU bed and his buddy Charlotte, jumped in next to him. Most likely they were watching a Scooby Doo video, while Tricia (one of Mattie's unforgettable HEM/ONC nurses) was flushing Mattie's lines. The PICU environment is hard enough to handle as an adult, so I can only imagine what it must have been like for Charlotte and Mattie's other friends who visited often. I am very grateful that Mattie had friends that came to visit because the sheer isolation of living in a hospital is hard to endure. My gratitude for these special moments, and special friendships, are quite deep and quite sincere.
Poem of the day: The Tree by Charlie Brown
As we stood in the grass yesterday
We remembered the day you went away
It brought a tear to each one's eyes
As we heard the words and looked to the skies
We remembered how you would laugh and play
And how hard you fought for the right to stay
So we planted a tree in memory of you
An oak tree, standing proud and true
It's here on the grounds of the school you loved
And we hope you can see it from up above.
Your tree standing strong and tall
Shading your friends one and all
I posted four more pictures from the Walk for you to view tonight. I have so many wonderful pictures that were sent to me, and over time I hope to be able to share many of them with you. I tried to capture the crowd and the energy at the Walk.
Left: The crowd assembling in the stands for a group picture and then the commencement of the ceremony.Right: The Walk beginning.
Left: In this picture is my mom and Karen, along with Tricia (an outstanding HEM/ONC nurse) and Doris (Doris is wearing a shirt with the number 16 on it). Doris is a cancer survivor, and the mother of one of my very talented former students, Theresa. I was so honored to meet Doris, and even more honored that she attended our Walk. Doris joined forces with my mom and Karen, and the three of them walked in unity for Mattie and pediatric cancer.Right: I love this picture! Mainly because it captures the excitement the children felt! The lead runner is Campbell, Mattie's good buddy from kindergarten.
This evening, Peter and I had the opportunity to go out to dinner with Ann and Dr. Bob. After dinner, we saw a play together entitled, Around the world in 80 days. We actually won these play tickets at the Resurrection Children's Center auction this year. I remember that auction night quite well, and I wasn't even thinking of bidding on these tickets until Ann showed them to me. I am actually happy we won these tickets because it introduced me to a theatre I had never been to in Bethesda, MD.
When growing up, I distinctly remember my grandmother singing the song entitled, Around the world in 80 days. However, I never read the book by Jules Verne or saw the movie. So I truly did not know what the play was about. Nonetheless, I must confess I had this notion that a hot air balloon was involved in the voyage. When I got home tonight, I read the playwright's notes, and he answered my questions. Mark Brown wrote, "There's no balloon! First and foremost. I'm sorry to burst your bubble, but there's no balloon. I can not stress this enough. I've said this from the very first day when several of my friends and I sat around discussing one of our favorite subjects - what novels would make good stage adaptations - and Around the world in 80 days came up. Someone said, It'll be great. We'll follow the balloon from country to country. I piped in with, There's no balloon. I hadn't even read the novel but somehow I knew there wasn't a balloon in it. It's the curse of the movie, really. The first one. The one with David Niven. It won five Academy Awards. The film had a balloon. It's what everyone remembers. But there's no balloon in the book and there's no balloon in this show." Jules Verne's inspiration for Around the world in 80 days was most likely George Francis Train, who in 1870 traveled around the world in 67 or 80 days.
The beauty of this play is it stars ONLY four actors and one actress. Yet these 5 individuals play over 39 different parts. It is almost hilarious to watch their costume changes and hear their different accents. It is indeed a comedy, however, it is a play with a moral message at the end. The lead character, Phileas Fogg, is a proper English man, who one night while at his men's club, wagers a bet with three other men that he can traverse the world in only 80 days. Throughout the play you see that Phileas is a man of precision, mathematics, and logic and reasoning. Emotions do not necessarily influence his decisions. Along his journey he meets a woman who he saves from being sacrificed by a tribe in India. This woman is indebted to Phileas and feels a special connection to him. However, Phileas tells her it was his "duty" to save her and he also had the "time." He was ahead of schedule along his voyage and he made his rescue of her some trite. However, in the end, Phileas learns that whether he wins the bet or not, his greatest accomplishment was he found love. The love of a woman. There was a lot of sighs and ohs and ahs in the audience over this conclusion. It may sound sappy I suppose, but the reality of the message is indeed very powerful. Without love, you have nothing.
I would like to end tonight's posting with four messages. Typically I do not forward messages I receive from one friend to another. But my friend Nancy's message was so meaningful today, I forwarded it to Christine, Campbell's mom. Below you will see Nancy's message, and Christine's response to Nancy's message. I wanted to share it with all of you tonight, because the essence of Mattie truly affects so many of us, and despite our geographic distance from one another, these stories unite us, as it did for Nancy (who lives in NY), and Christine (who lives in Northern VA).
The first message is from my friend, Charlie. Charlie wrote, "Thank you for the continuing information about Sunday's walk. Your words and pictures help bring it to life for those of us who unfortunately could not be there. It seems as though all the children had a really wonderful day and that Mattie was remembered the way he would have wanted; with his friends enjoying all sorts of events he too would have loved to participate in. The tree planting was beautiful and the pictures are very special. I can tell that Mattie's friends will remember him as they pass by his tree or have the opportunity to sit under it and enjoy it's shade as they play. What a beautiful tribute to your boy. As I practice today I will work to help you find the energy to keep moving in a positive direction. I hold you gently in my thoughts."
The second message is from our friend, Danelle. Danelle wrote, "I wanted to tell you one other reason why an oak was such a great choice for Mattie’s tree. A friend of mine had the City of Alexandria arborist come out to her house (just up the street from me) and check out some of her trees. He told her that he is concerned because so many of the oaks in this neighborhood (basically the same neighborhood that SSSAS is in) are near the end of their lives and people are not replacing them with new oaks when they come down. They are choosing faster growing trees, or other trees for other reasons. He said over time, the oaks will all be replaced at this rate. I am so glad that Mattie’s tree is one that will help reverse this process. It seems fitting."
The third message is from my friend and colleague, Nancy. Nancy wrote, "I find myself reading the blog with a renewed energy. The poetry, the pictures from the walk, the explanations of all that went on that day filled my heart with HOPE for all of you. I was enchanted by Campbell's conversation with you. Oh, if we mere adults, could listen to our children as beautifully as you listened to Campbell, I don't think we would be facing all these horrible political and war agendas in the world. Children are our future and often they have answers on how to treat others. Campbell clearly loved Mattie and thinks of him, intensified, by the tree ceremony. What a leap he made to find the other tree! He is having an opportunity to see death as a happening and maybe not be as afraid to feel his feelings around the loss of his friend. It is a tribute to Mattie and all his wonderful energy as he endured so many painful days in a giving way. This reminds me of a recent reading about the way that terminal children often respond to their imminent death. They appear to be better able to go in peace than their 'older and more experienced' adult family. I think passing the HOPE necklace on is a fitting way to extend the message of the foundation. You are providing hope to families and the children facing this disease! If you decide to keep it, I believe it is still an important symbol of your hope with the Foundation. Either way, you will make a good decision. I trust that. Finally, I am not surprised that you've received so many messages from parents whose children attended. Although the walk was 'in memory' of Mattie, it gave the children a venue where they could be together with Mattie and others involved in the healing process. It gave them a safe place to learn from grieving and as we know children learn best from play and good vibrations in their universe. A brief digression about the initial picture of Mattie, you , and the PICU day. Dancing Queen is a personal favorite too and I had the best mental image of the people on the floor enjoying this upbeat sound. Like laughter, music gets to the soul easily and quickly. So much still left to learn and teach others about the grieving process and the living process. I end with a reminder of a wonderful quote that sits on our computer desk at home:"ENJOY LIFE - this is not a dress rehearsal. I wish you a peaceful and gentle weekend."
The fourth message is from my friend, Christine. Christine wrote, "I read your blog entry yesterday. I didn't know that Campbell found the other tree memorial. I feel choked up right now and am not sure why. I think it is the fact that, as Nancy pointed out, you really take the time to listen to children. It's not always easy to stop engaging with adults to have a meaningful conversation with a child. You never have a problem doing that. It reminds me of your skills as a parent and educator. I hope that you will always stay connected in some way to Campbell. I know that he feels a connection to you. By the way, the ceremony yesterday was very meaningful. Mattie's oak tree is really beautiful."
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