Saturday, April 21, 2012

Saturday, April 21, 2012

Tonight's picture was taken in August of 2009. Mattie was home and on our couch. In his hands he had a huge fly swatter that Ann bought all the kids who attended Mattie's 7th birthday party. But also of interest was what was sitting next to Mattie on the couch.... a very large paper cockroach. Mattie made this gross thing in clinic with his art therapists and he brought it home and loved spooking me with it. In fact, that year in the hospital, Mattie's love for bugs and creeping people out with plastic and rubber bugs grew exponentially.  


Quote of the day: The secret of getting things done is act. ~ Dante Aligheri


Dante Aligheri's quote fascinates me. It reminds me of what my dad always says, which is if you want something to get done, you need to give the task to a busy person. I suppose there is some truth to this. Just when I think I can't possibly take on more, I somehow do. But I think this is the mixed blessing of trying to run a small business without having a staff. Everything falls on either myself or Peter.

Today Peter and I drove to Waldorf, MD. Which for us isn't around the corner. It takes about 40 to 45 minutes one way. We drove this distance to shop at the Christmas Tree Shops. If you like bargain shopping and a vast selection of things, then this is the ultimate store to go to. I was introduced to this fantastic chain in Boston, MA. The home of Christmas Tree Shops. For the past two years, I have journeyed to the Maryland Christmas Tree Shops with my friend Carolyn (our Walk Raffle Chair) and her two children. In fact, I did not even know the store existed near me until Carolyn took me to it.

Peter and I spent hours in the store today and I feel like we hit the Mother Load. You just can't imagine what you can buy for $100 in this store. If I tried to buy the equivalent at other stores around town, I would have most likely spent more than $300. So to me, it is worth the trek! After our purchases we came home and I began staging our raffle baskets. Ten out of the 12 are almost to completion and ready to be wrapped, which is excellent news for us.

We took a break for lunch and actually walked up the street to one of our newer restaurants in our neighborhood. The restaurant was bustling but we were able to sit outside in the fresh air, chat, and have a nice lunch. To me it is this small perk in a weekend that can change my mood.

At the Walk this year, we have decided not to have community vendors. For the past two years we had people come and sell their wears, but unfortunately nothing ever sold. Last year, Lauren Chelenza, the founder of Bows for Hope, was one of our Walk speakers. At the 2011 Walk, Lauren sold her hand designed duct tape bows. They sold like hot cakes. So this gave me the idea of doing away with community vendors and in their place, have kids and teens serve as vendors this year, selling their hand made items. Mattie's preschool friend, Ellie, decided on her own to be a Walk vendor and to create hairbands. She has named her vendor table, "Bands for Hope" and is busy at home creating and designing for the Walk!

Here is a close up of some of Ellie's hand crafted hairbands. To me they look professional and very creative and I am so happy Mattie Miracle can give kids and teens this outlet to channel their creativity in a very positive and productive manner..... which is to raise money for psychosocial services to support children and their families battling childhood cancer.