Tonight's picture was taken in May of 2007. Mattie was going to his first day of summer camp at his preschool. Before we continued on our journey that morning, I wanted to capture that moment in time. It is ironic that Mattie's preschool symbol was the sun. In November of 2008, when Mattie was invited to his art teacher's studio, they created a painting together. It turned out to be a painting which Mattie entitled, "Mr. Sun." Mattie's "Mr. Sun," is the backdrop or wallpaper of the Foundation website. In addition, the sun became the official symbol of Mattie's Foundation. A powerful symbol indeed! It seems like an appropriate choice given the radiance and strength of Mattie.
Quote of the day: The ultimate expression of generosity is not in giving of what you have, but in giving of who you are. ~ Johnnnetta Cole
My dad sent me this quote today, and as I was reading it several thoughts came to my mind. There are several volunteers who work for Mattie's Foundation who not only embrace the notion of this quote, but they also act upon it. Their actions speak volumes to us, and their dedication is appreciated. The other thought I had is despite not feeling well (a feeling I have gotten used to over the years, since several of my physical ailments are chronic in nature) I decided to pull it together and visit Mary (Ann's mom) later in the day. Mary was looking for company today, and I remember all too well, when I was trapped in the Hospital how I welcomed someone who would sit with me, chat, and help normalize my life. Not that that was possible at the time, but not going through something alone is key for me. So I have been reflecting all day on generosity being "in giving of who you are."
I spent a good portion of the day doing Foundation administrative work. While doing this I was awaiting an email from Peter telling me that he landed safely in Kenya. Peter basically flew 12 hours from Bangladesh to Kenya today and in the process told me about his traveling experiences along the way. Though traveling can be a stressful process, it sounds like he was treated very well. In fact the airlines upgraded him for free on his leg from Bangladesh to Qatar, and once he landed in Qatar, he had to run to catch his next flight. He only had a 20 minute layover between flights, which isn't long for international travel. As he boarded the plane in Qatar headed for Kenya, it was clear that they held the plane until Peter boarded. Right after he boarded the doors were closed to the aircraft. Somehow these pleasantries made the long trip much more bearable. I was happy to hear this because what I immediately realize is that when Peter travels internationally, he gets treated with great respect. The people in the field love him and they all take the time to get to know him and then thank him when he is done. He actually gets gifts for coming to visit these locations! These are acts of kindness we do not see in our current US workplace. There are no personal connections and in so many cases there is no respect for one another as people. That saddens me, since Americans spend more time working than doing anything else, and yet most people are working in rather unpleasant work environments.
As I was going through the mail today, I noticed I received a card from my friend, Nancy. Nancy sends me things all the time, but what I wasn't expecting was a mother's day card. This card, as I told her, meant a great deal to me. Since this is not a day in which I get recognized any more. Without Mattie in my life, it is hard to know what to view me as. But I can assure you it is painful to go from being a mom, from being an important and central part of some one's world, to nothing.
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