Tonight's picture was taken in June of 2007. Mattie was on the way to his friend's superhero party, and he decided to dress up as Superman! As I look at this picture I realize just how appropriately dressed Mattie was. He had superhuman strengths and powers, and showed great bravery under the worst of circumstances.
Quote of the day: Love is stronger than death even though it can't stop death from happening, but no matter how hard death tries it can't separate people from love. It can't take away our memories either. In the end, life is stronger than death. ~ Author Unknown
It was a busy day. Despite not feeling great, I worked through it to finalize our Walk's raffle. I have been working closely with my friend Carolyn, our raffle coordinator, and despite the fact that running a raffle can be very labor intensive and stressful, Carolyn has a good sense of humor and is organized. All things I greatly appreciate. The raffle is well on its way, and pre-sales tickets are selling quite well.
While at Ann's house today, I had the opportunity to meet two moms from her children's school. I hadn't met these ladies before, but as they were trying to figure out who I was, the natural question was, do you have children and where do they go to school? I don't bring up Mattie with people I don't know, unless I am asked about my children. When I mentioned Mattie, both of these women knew instantly who I was, since clearly Ann has spoken to them about Mattie. However, to my surprise one of the women admitted to us that she lost her first child to a house fire. She went on to tell us that she rarely talks about this and usually doesn't tell people. For her it has been 8 years since her son died. She told me that it does get better with time. I couldn't help myself, and I told her I did not think this was going to be true in my case. In addition, I told her that besides the loss of Mattie, I also lost a big part of my identity and future. She couldn't understand this actually, maybe because she has another child. I am not sure. What I do feel, as I have always suspected, losing a child to cancer is different than losing a child through an accident. Certainly this mom and I have commonalities, but she lost me when she said.... at least I had 14 months to prepare for his death. I get her point, but it was 14 months of hell, a hell I have tried to accurately describe on this blog. But words do not always cut it.
I spent the majority of the day sorting through raffle items, organizing and itemizing them, and then buying last minute things to finish each raffle package. The final touch is wrapping each basket, and I am happy to say we are now at that stage! I would like to end tonight's posting with a message from Mattie's oncologist and our friend, Kristen. Kristen writes to us each Tuesday in remembrance of Mattie. It is hard to believe today marks the 86th week of Mattie's passing. Kristen wrote, "Things sound so exciting for the walk this year! I love the logo! You are creating such a wonderful event for a purpose that is close to your heart. It will be a huge success! Thinking of you this Tuesday and everyday...safe travels home Peter."
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