Monday, February 6, 2012Tonight's picture was taken in February of 2004. Mattie was almost two years old here. One weekend afternoon, Peter and I took Mattie to the National History Museum. As you can see Mattie was beyond fascinated by the big prehistoric mammal on display in the rotunda. His eyes were simply glued and what I love was Peter captured that special moment. That moment of curiosity, fascination, and wonderment.
Quote of the day: Life is a series of experiences, each of which makes us bigger, even though it is hard to realize this. For the world was built to develop character, and we must learn that the set backs and griefs which we endure help us in our marching onward. ~ Henry Ford
This is an interesting quote by Henry Ford. Prior to Mattie's battle with cancer and then death, I most likely would have wholeheartedly agreed with him. Set backs and griefs which we endure help us to more forward or at least to give us perseverance to march onward. Yet when I think about childhood cancer, what we have lived through, and what we contend with each day, I would have to say that such traumatic deaths can instead stymie a person. Finding a way through this quagmire of despair is our life's greatest challenge. A challenge that I do not believe enables or gives one the skills and abilities to move forward, or at least not toward the forward/future one had originally envisioned.
I had scheduled a meeting at the Capitol Hill Visitor's Center to meet our contact there who is helping us with the logistics for our Psychosocial Symposium. I had a ton of questions for her and really needed to understand the regulations associated with the building, so that I can alert all our attendees. Being armed with information always puts me more at ease, especially when planning an event in a location that is foreign to me. Because this event is a new undertaking for Mattie Miracle, many of our supporters are not yet clear on its magnitude. However, I must assure my readers, when I tell you that trying to plan this symposium in March, followed by our major fundraiser and public awareness event in May (the Walk) is no easy undertaking. Each one alone is huge, taken together, all I can say is wow. I will be unveiling the nature of the Symposium shortly, but part of the day will entail a congressional briefing followed by cutting edge psychosocial research sessions hosted by leading psycho-oncologists from the North East and Mid-Atlantic regions. In addition, participants will hear from six different families impacted by childhood cancer. It will be a full eight hours of content, and the goal soon will be to reach out to our various communities and extend invitations.
In the midst of February, it seems amazing that the daffodils are popping up and blooming. We have had several warm days and the flowers are confused!
I would like to end tonight's posting with this picture of two buddies..... Peter and Patches! This picture is an extension of my blog posting from last night. Simply stated, Patches is very attached to Peter and in all reality she is a great companion to him. Which is truly ironic, since I am the one who basically rescued her from the streets of DC. But in her mind, I am simply her chore girl!
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