Tonight's picture was taken in October of 2003. This was another photo from the farm series I have been displaying all week. What I love about this picture, is I am not sure who was more intrigued by this encounter, Mattie or the goat?! It seemed to be a mutual interest!
Quote of the day: In youth one has tears without grief; in age, griefs without tears. ~ Joseph Roux
Tonight's quote caught my attention when I read it. I suppose the beauty of youth to some extent is that grief may be felt differently. I am hesitant to say that one needs to reach a certain age to truly grieve, because I think that is judgmental and most likely inaccurate. But I do agree that perhaps in youth tears come easier for various reasons. First and foremost is the simple fact that as we age more and more barriers and facades develop that enable us to protect ourselves or even conceal our true feelings. Therefore, I think as we age we learn NOT to cry and we learn to internalize a great deal of our inner most thoughts and feelings. Yet even though grief may exist without visible tears, the tears do exist in a different format. The physical pains, the exhaustion, the feelings of depression and hopelessness all replace the tears.
I began my day walking another 3.5 miles with Ann. It was an incredible weather day in Washington, DC, with 70 degree temperatures. It truly felt like spring and I could visibly see a change in attitude in those around me. People were friendlier, chatted with each other, held doors open, and seemed more courteous. I noticed this while I was shopping and it immediately caught my attention. I have read studies about the impact of good weather on people but I guess I never really paid much attention to this until today. I know that heat and sun make me feel better, but witnessing this in others was a confirming feeling.
I spent a good portion of the day running around doing chores. Peter and I are preparing for two things next week. The first is The Mattie Miracle Cancer Foundation is visiting Capitol Hill on Tuesday and we will be meeting with legislative assistants from four different congressional offices. We are very grateful to Brett Thompson and Mercury, LLC (a high stake public strategy firm), who have graciously offered their services to us for a year to develop a legislative platform. I will share more about these visits on Tuesday. In addition, the Foundation has its first face to face walk planning meeting for this year on Wednesday. Up until this point, all correspondence for the May 22nd event have been electronic. This is a talented, dedicated, and efficient group of individuals and we have accomplished a great deal so far, but our face to face meeting is so important. It isn't easy to find a planning date that works for everyone, but at least 20 people are coming to Wednesday's meeting, which is a phenomenal turnout.
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