Monday, September 12, 2011Tonight's picture was taken in September of 2008. Mattie was home between treatments and he received a wonderful care package from one of Peter's clients in Edmonton, Canada. They sent Mattie all sorts of Canadian Oilers gear, which you can see he was proudly wearing. At the time Mattie had no idea what ice hockey even was, but he learned very quickly. Mattie received many wonderful gifts over the course of his 15 month battle. We experienced the incredible support, care, and generosity of others in our community during that time. I believe people were inspired by Mattie, his courage, and despite his horrific treatments, he never lost his incredible magnetism and personality.
Childhood Cancer Fact of the Day: Each year, over 16,000 children are diagnosed with cancer in the U.S. (Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results/National Cancer Institute).
Though Peter and I are on very different coasts, we are both having daily deer sightings. I think that is rather unheard of and to me it seems like a sign. After work today, Peter went for a walk on Roosevelt Island and spotted yet another deer. We haven't seen one all spring and summer, and now he is seeing one each time he walks the Island while I am away. 
Here is a picture of one of the deer I saw today. She actually jumped out of a bush and right in front of our car. She had friends with her too and as well as a baby deer. The baby was adorable and stopped to look at us. My mom and I walk the neighborhood track each morning, and this was the sight we passed on the way to the track. Clearly I am NOT in DC anymore. 
Later in the day, Peter sent me this picture. He stopped by Georgetown University Hospital to donate printer cartridges to the Childlife Department. As my faithful readers know, a part of Mattie will always remain on the fifth floor of the Hospital. As soon as you exit the elevator and enter the pediatrics hallway visitors are greeted with a "Georgetown Pediatrics" sign. This sign was designed by Jenny and Jessie, Mattie's art therapists. One day in clinic, Jenny and Jessie asked Mattie if he wanted to put the finishing touches on the sign by adding his hand print. He wasn't interested, so I joked with Mattie about putting on a foot print. That intrigued him and he selected "George" (the name of Mattie's left leg, the only extremity that was untouched by cancer) to make a print. Mattie's left leg was curious, just like Curious George, and because this leg was untouched by surgery, he tended to use his leg like you and I would use our hands and fingers. He developed a very talented left leg. Any case, here is a close up of George. To you, you see a red footprint. To me I am picturing Mattie sitting in a wheelchair creating this print. I can hear his laughter, his commentary, and the directions he was giving Jenny and Jessie that day in clinic. Little did we know that this print would have such significant meaning. The physical boy is gone, but his presence reminds in paint. 
Later in the day, I asked Peter how Patches, our cat, was doing without me at home. I think the picture speaks for itself. She is a happy cat, playing with her catnip toy. I know where I stand in that relationship. 
In addition to my deer sightings today, I was greeted at my parents front door by this lizard. This fellow was just sitting on the stone absorbing the sun and minding his own business. His tail was so long, and again, this would have been a sighting Mattie would have gone crazy over. This afternoon, my parents and I went to see the movie, The Help. My mom had read the book, and though I hadn't, I heard enough about the story line to get the general gist. Here is a synopsis of the book written by the author, Kathryn Stockett:
Twenty-two-year-old Skeeter has just returned home after graduating from Ole Miss. She may have a degree, but it is 1962, Mississippi, and her mother will not be happy till Skeeter has a ring on her finger. Skeeter would normally find solace with her beloved maid Constantine, the woman who raised her, but Constantine has disappeared and no one will tell Skeeter where she has gone.
Aibileen is a black maid, a wise, regal woman raising her seventeenth white child. Something has shifted inside her after the loss of her own son, who died while his bosses looked the other way. She is devoted to the little girl she looks after, though she knows both their hearts may be broken.
Minny, Aibileen's best friend, is short, fat, and perhaps the sassiest woman in Mississippi. She can cook like nobody's business, but she can't mind her tongue, so she's lost yet another job. Minny finally finds a position working for someone too new to town to know her reputation. But her new boss has secrets of her own.
Seemingly as different from one another as can be, these women will nonetheless come together for a clandestine project that will put them all at risk. And why? Because they are suffocating within the lines that define their town and their times. And sometimes lines are made to be crossed.
In pitch-perfect voices, Kathryn Stockett creates three extraordinary women whose determination to start a movement of their own forever changes a town, and the way women--mothers, daughters, caregivers, friends--view one another. A deeply moving novel filled with poignancy, humor, and hope, The Help is a timeless and universal story about the lines we abide by, and the ones we don't.
I found the movie extremely touching and powerful. It depicted life in the South in the 1960s and the segregation that was a way of life. I typically do not rave about modern movies, but if you haven't seen this, it is a must see. It provides a fascinating and yet very disturbing reality. I have trouble understanding how people can treat others differently because of their race, ethnicity, or beliefs, and this movie gives voice to those who were abused and discriminated because of the color of their skin. By the time the movie was over, I was in tears and was in deep admiration of the main character of the movie. I found her courage to do the right thing and to stand up to her town and friends commendable. I naturally assumed that this story was based on some sort of reality. When I came home I googled the author, and realized she was actually sued recently for the depiction of one of the Help characters. I guess I was saddened to read that this book was purely fictional (naturally all fiction I know is based on reality), and the author did not actually interview the helpers. In the movie, the main character writes a book to break down barriers and to give a voice to the amazing women who raised generation after generation of white children. In real life, I wonder what the motivation of the author actually was? The book wasn't written in the 1960s or 1970s (yes I realize Stockett was a child then), it was written for today's audience, and as such I have to imagine it was written not only with the pureness of telling a story, but to make money and generate attention toward the author. Putting all of that aside, it is a movie worth seeing and to dialogue about.
I end tonight's posting with a wonderful picture of Mattie Moon. The skies were clear tonight and the moon was full. All signs to me from Mattie. 
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