Thursday, September 13, 2012Tonight's picture was taken in August of 2009, a month before Mattie died. In so many ways Mattie's body was ravaged by cancer. In the end, Mattie was literally skin and bones. He couldn't eat or drink ANYTHING. How he remained alive amazes me, but IV fluids definitely helped. Despite the pain and the intensity of his illness, he continued to play. As you can see in this picture, Mattie was doing one of his favorite things in the Hospital, building with Legos. In addition, a friend gave Mattie this pink light up egg, which he thought was just fantastic and different. Though this picture isn't the happiest of photos it does in my opinion capture Mattie's energy and will to live. He fought cancer at every turn, and in the midst of his battle, he wanted to play, build, and create.
Quote of the day: Life is a shipwreck but we must not forget to sing in the lifeboats. ~ Voltaire
I came across Voltaire's quote today and I simply love it. There are many times in life where we may feel stuck, like we have reached a crossroads, or feel absolutely ruined. Or as Voltaire puts it..... shipwrecked. Yet lifeboats come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. Some lifeboats may be actual things, and some maybe connections we find within others. Needless to say, we constantly need to search for our lifeboats in life, sometimes they are subtle, but they are there if we allow them in.
One of my so called lifeboats this week has been going to zumba. I find moving around to music very therapeutic, and sometimes I wonder if I am going for the exercise, or for the sheer joy of moving around. Not that it matters, but it is a good outlet for me, and it is important I know that. I know so many people have spoken to me about the benefits of yoga and other meditative techniques, but for me music and movement are key. The more movement, the better I like it!
I had the wonderful opportunity to eat lunch outside with my friend Mary today. Not to be confused with the other Mary in my life, who lives in an assisted living facility. My friend Mary and I met at Mattie's preschool. Today was such a glorious weather day, that sitting outside in this perfect weather was in essence another lifeboat. While having lunch with Mary, chatting about all sorts of things, I literally was hit right on the head with something. It went from my head and then onto the table. It was a baby acorn. My interpretation of the acorn was it was a direct message from Mattie, as if he was saying...... "hello, I am thinking of you!" Needless to say, I was touched emotionally about this acorn, and put it right into my purse.
Later in the day, I worked on Foundation items and one of the things I am planning is a check signing ceremony at Georgetown University Hospital at the end of the month. A significant portion of funds ($25,000) we generated from the May Foundation Walk, are going to Georgetown, and I worked with Linda and Tim today to figure out a date and time for this event. Giving Georgetown these funds in September seems very meaningful to me, given that this is the month Mattie died, and September is National Childhood Cancer Awareness month. In many ways the connections we made at Georgetown are another lifeboat for me and through these connections Mattie's memory remains alive. So many people have been touched by Mattie, his story, and his passion for life. I am honored that Mattie has a Georgetown Child Life Fund named after him, because I know his love for Linda (his Child Life Specialist) was real, genuine, and truly beautiful. Allowing others access to Linda and her team (through the Mattie Miracle Fund), is deeply meaningful to Peter and I, and captures the spirit of Mattie and our Foundation's mission.
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