Tonight's picture was taken in March of 2006. I snapped the picture because this was a RARE sight in our house! Mattie NEVER napped, even as a baby, napping wasn't Mattie's forte. I loved when Mattie's pediatrician would tell me that ALL babies nap. During those doctor visits, I always felt the urge to invite this doctor back home with us to observe how well napping went. Despite my greatest efforts, I learned Mattie wasn't going to nap if he did not want to. Mattie would nap only as a precursor to getting sick.
Quote of the day: The sorrow which has no vent in tears may make other organs weep. ~ Henry Maudsley
This quote caught my attention tonight because it captures how I am physically feeling. I am feeling very tired, worn out, and congested. I do think grief and sorrow manifest symptoms in one's organs. Throughout one's whole body and mind actually. I may have brushed that notion aside at one time, but having a bird's eye view of grief, it enables me to speak with great confidence about the subject matter.
Despite feeling run down, I accomplished a lot today. I drove to Rockville, MD, and visited the WMZQ radio station. WMZQ donated two Kenny Chesney tickets to our Walk's raffle this year, and in addition to their support in May, they wrote me an email saying that they look forward to participating in future Mattie Miracle events!
Plans for the Foundation Walk are moving right along, and we have begun posting press releases about the event. You can see one of them below:
http://www.prlog.org/11444265-young-survivors-of-childhood-cancer-lead-annual-walk-to-raise-awareness-about-pediatric-cancer.html
Peter and I are very grateful to Kristen Johnson. Kristen is a graphic designer and is the creative professional who designed our Foundation's logo. I instantly loved Kristen when I met her. She was introduced to us by our friend, Liz. Kristen immediately understood our desire to capture Mattie's memory and she also understood our mission, goals, and passion to help other children and their families with cancer. Kristen's logo for our Foundation captures Mattie's sun (which he painted with his art teacher), and the Foundation sun logo also has 7 rays, one for each year Mattie was alive. Because we feel Kristen is in tune with our Foundation and our vision, we turned to her for help with the design of this year's Walk t-shirt. We literally spoke to Kristen on the phone for 15 minutes, and within that short period of time, she got exactly what we were looking for in a t-shirt. So I am happy to report that t-shirt design and production are well on their way. Once again we are grateful to Kristen, who did this t-shirt design pro-bono! An amazing lady! Last year at the Walk, to my surprise, Kristen was in attendance. She wanted to come to show her support, and she was truly moved to see the logo she created posted everywhere. In a way it is like an artist seeing one's creation in a museum. Kristen will be at the Walk again this year, and I told her she will be blown away between the Foundation logo and the Faces of Hope t-shirt design. To see the Faces of Hope Logo visit: https://www.mattiemiracle.com/Home.php
In the midst of how I am feeling today, I received a surprise Easter care package from our friend, Tamra. She gave me angel wing wind chime, which naturally reminds me of my favorite angel and a beautiful butterfly glass dish. Both meaningful gifts, especially on a Tuesday. A Tuesday, where we acknowledge that Mattie has been gone 84 weeks from our lives.
The second surprise I received was from a parent of a child in Donna's class. This parent, Liz, wrote to Donna and she wanted Donna to pass along the message to me. Liz wanted me to know how much her son appreciated my art lessons. Liz wrote, "I just wanted to let you and Vicki know how much my son LOVED the Picasso/Matisse presentations over the last several weeks. He wants to go to Spain and France. He quizzed us on “sad colors” (blue) and “happy colors” (red—although he also said yellow, but maybe that’s HIS happy color!--and his sister has decided after talking with him that green is HER happy color) and told us that Matisse was a lawyer “just like the two of you!” Unfortunately, I had to break it to him that Ted and I were not planning to change our careers and become artists at this point. :) We are going to be taking the kids to the National Gallery of Art this weekend to show them their paintings and I am quite positive that my son will be able to tell us more about Matisse and Picasso! So, if you could pass on this message to Vicki, I would really appreciate it. I wanted her (and you) to know how much he loved the lessons and how he’s brought them home to us."
Liz's message brought a smile to my face, because the true test of learning, is integrating the content into one's everyday life. I also feel as if I inspired this little boy to talk about these artists with his parents, sister, and friends. It is no longer a class assignment, but it has become a part of his thinking and processing of the world! It doesn't get better than that! I shared this news with my parents, and my mom wrote me her comments below. My mother is a born teacher, and could teach math to practically anyone or anything. So it is always wonderful to get high praise from another outstanding professional.
A Kindergartner Discovers Picasso and Matisse - by Virginia R. Sardi
You definitely inspired this little boy and no doubt many other children in Donna's kindergarten class by introducing them to the artistic creations of Picasso and Matisse in a way that captivated their interest well beyond what one would expect from children of that age. By exposing them to the highlights, personalities and passions of these two masterful geniuses, you have planted the seed of creativity within their hearts and minds forever and given them an appreciation for art at a tender age. By cleverly designing Picasso/Matisse hands on projects for the students to work on, you opened their eyes to the possibilities of using their own imaginative skills in interpreting the beauty in the world around them. You turned them on to color in a way they had not been aware of before so that they were able to acknowledge the effect different colors had on mood and feelings. You made them think about what effect specific colors had on their emotions. Some colors make them happy and others make them sad but in some cases there was no consensus as they learned that their friends "see" the world differently including the way colors make them feel. You also gave them an appreciation for Spain and France, the countries that produced these two great artists and it is no wonder that this little fellow would like his parents to take him on a trip to both countries. Actually, I have been to both countries many times but unfortunately I was much older. How much better to start early to appreciate the art, natural beauty and the richness of the cultures of these two wonderful countries. Since you have been the motivator of this little boy's desires and have shown what exposure to a great teaching experience can accomplish, you are to be complimented. I wish you could be cloned. You should be!! For this little boy, it may just be a learning experience that he will remember for the rest of his life, where the possibilities for future benefits to him are without bounds!
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