Tonight's picture was taken in July of 2007. You can see two things from this picture. The first one was that Mattie LOVED Lightning McQueen, the car character from the Disney movie. The other thing Mattie loved was building, stacking, and creating. Mattie's friend from preschool was moving to California, and Mattie inherited his friend's blocks. Mattie loved them and in many ways despite it being 89 weeks since Mattie's death it is hard to accept that he and his toys are no longer surrounding us!
Quote of the day: There is a sacredness in tears. They are not the mark of weakness, but of power. They speak more eloquently than ten thousand tongues. They are messengers of overwhelming grief…and unspeakable love. ~ Washington Irving
I began my morning by crying. I had a visitor to my home today and she recently had a baby. She wanted to show me pictures of the baby and of her three sons. As she was talking she then realized that perhaps this was bothering me. At one point she stopped talking and she began crying. She was crying because she remembered Mattie and she wanted me to know that I was a good mom. She paused because in a way she couldn't understand how she could have three healthy children and I now have none. A brilliant question, but as we know there are NO brilliant answers. As I told her, talking about her children is a good thing and a natural thing. She shouldn't stop this just because of my situation. I also told her that I was happy that her children were so important to her since she should consider herself fortunate to have ones who are alive and healthy.
Peter and I received over 300 professional photographs today from Herman Farrer. Herman covered our Walk this year and he did an amazing job! I feel he captured the spirit of the event as well as the incredible expressions on people's faces. I will be sharing these photos with you very soon! For those of you unable to attend the walk, I believe you will get a good glimpse of the activities and excitement of the day from these photos.
My parents and I spent the day together and it is hard to believe they are leaving on Thursday. It seems like they just got here. But with a Walk falling in between their visit, time just zooms by. This evening, I took my mom to the Kennedy Center to see the musical Follies. This was a late Mother's day present. I happen to be a big Bernadette Peters fan, and was excited to be able to see her perform again live. Follies is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. The story concerns a reunion in a crumbling Broadway theatre, scheduled for demolition, of the past performers of the "Weismann's Follies," a musical revue (based on the Ziegfeld Follies), that played in that theatre between the World Wars. It focuses on two couples, Buddy and Sally Durant Plummer and Benjamin and Phyllis Rogers Stone, who are attending the reunion. Sally and Phyllis were showgirls in the Follies. Both couples are deeply unhappy with their marriages. Buddy, a traveling salesman, is having an affair with a girl on the road; Sally is still as much in love with Ben as she was years ago; and Ben is so self-absorbed that Phyllis feels emotionally abandoned. Several of the former showgirls perform their old numbers, sometimes accompanied by the ghosts of their former selves.
I found the musical depressing in content, the music was not memorable, and worst of all, I was saddened to hear Bernadette Peters' decline. Her voice has lost its luster, range, and vibrancy. In fact, I wish I did not see this play because I would prefer to remember her for the stage presence and gift that she had and which made her so memorable.
I appreciate so many Walk attendees sending me pictures! I would like to share some more with you tonight. Stay tuned for more pictures coming soon!
This was an event for ALL ages! This cutie was one of our youngest attendees. She came all the way from Seattle, WA!
I would like to end tonight's posting with two messages. The first message is from Kristen, Mattie's oncologist and my friend. Kristen and her son, Conor, attended the event, and I will share a picture of them shortly! Kristen wrote, "It was so wonderful for me to finally be witness to Mattie's walk! Congratulations on your success!!!! I enjoyed seeing your parents Vicki and having an opportunity to talk/walk with them for a bit. And...as today is Tuesday...I send you my thoughts this day and every day."
The second message is from my friend and colleague, Nancy. Nancy wrote, "I've been looking at the blog over the last few days and was able to feel the energy of the walk through your pictures. What a tribute to all of Team Mattie and especially Peter and you as you assembled this magnificent group of people to Walk the walk towards awareness of Pediatric Cancer and its impact on children and their families. It was wonderful to see Lauren and Noah looking so well. May they continue to thrive. The video tribute was wonderful too. Mattie resembled you at an early age. His look was unmistakable from 6 months on. As I looked at the collection of pictures, many of them already shown on the blog, I could see his desire to put on a brave face. His eyes are what gave him away. They showed his fatigue and at times, pain, during those hard months for all of you. Something else I saw was the love and attention that the staff gave to him. Somehow each of these special human beings were able to maintain energy and spirit while working with Mattie. His many interests were encouraged and it is clear how difficult it is to part with any of his creations. I was happy to read that you reached your monetary goal and know that support will only increase following this successful endeavor."
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