Tonight's picture was taken in March of 2009. A friend of mine sent Mattie a puzzle in the mail. When Mattie put the puzzle together it was in 3-D. Mattie thought this was VERY neat. As you can see the ocean puzzle was in his hands. However, seeing this photo brings back memories of what our home used to look like. Certainly when Mattie was well, we had toys all around us. But when Mattie was battling cancer, our home was taken over by gifts of all kinds. Gifts by the boat loads. These items kept Mattie busy and engaged and they also reminded us that people cared and wanted to support us. It was only years after Mattie died that I began digging out from every item. In fact I would say the first 18 months after Mattie died, I couldn't emotionally touch anything. We lived in chaos and I couldn't care less. Slowly over time, I have been attacking piles of things and I can finally say our home no longer looks like a storage unit! Yet if you gave me the option of having Mattie back versus organization, I would take Mattie any day.
Quote of the day: Grown-ups never understand anything by themselves, and it is tiresome for children to be always and forever explaining things to them. ~ Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Tonight's quote captured my attention, especially after the day I have had. I consider myself a very introspective person, but I have to admit I learned a great deal more about my feelings today after interacting with my new friend, Sam. Sam is only three years old and he is the youngest child of Coach Dave. My faithful readers know that when Mattie got sick, Coach Dave came into our lives. Dave was the head football coach at Mattie's school and was instrumental at getting his team to support Mattie. Dave visited Mattie often both at home and in the hospital and continues to be a vital and committed part of Mattie's Foundation.
A couple of weeks ago, one of Dave's daughters, Annie emailed me. Annie was one of our children vendors at our Foundation Walk last year. She designed amazing duct tape purses. I am not sure how she could make a duct tape purse look so pretty and fashionable, but she did it. She also sold every single purse she brought to the Foundation Walk! When Annie recently emailed, she wanted me to know that her school hosts an annual Community Service Bazaar. As a 6th grader she had the opportunity to select a charity or organization of her choice that she wanted to feature at the Bazaar. She selected Mattie Miracle! I was very honored and she invited me to attend the event today.
When Mattie was in kindergarten, Annie was in first grade. They both attended the same school back then. I learned from Evelyn (Annie's mom), that Annie actually knew Mattie. I had NO idea! So in a way, the selection of Mattie Miracle has personal meaning to her and her whole family. Annie worked with two of her friends and together they manned a table featuring information about Mattie Miracle as well as sold various creative items the girls hand made. They sold duct tape wallets, friendship bracelets, magnets, hair clip bows, and cookies. However these girls were ingenious. They put a sign on their table that stated, "free gift with purchase." The free gift was an orange Mattie Miracle bag. It was a totally clever idea and I heard lots of chatter from fellow students passing by about wanting the free bag.
The entire hallway of the middle school was filled with tables. Each table was manned by a group of girls, and each table was raising money for a different charity or organization. It was wonderful to see Mattie Miracle right in the midst of this. I got to meet the head of the middle school and several teachers in the process. But the wonderful part of this event was seeing the energy, dedication, and passion of Annie and her friends promoting Mattie Miracle. In 45 minutes they sold close to $200 worth of merchandise. I told them I want to hire them! These girls have also committed their time to designing and selling crafts at our fourth Annual Mattie Miracle Walk on May 19th. I am thrilled to see this younger generation taking an interest in Mattie Miracle and using their skills to bring awareness to childhood cancer.
In addition to interacting with Annie and her friends, I also spent some time with Annie's youngest brother, Sam and his mom, Evelyn. Sam reminds me a lot of Mattie. He is a live wire and knows what he wants! Not everyone knows how to interact with a preschooler like this, but I learned from the best of them! I have to admit when I set out today to spend time with Coach Dave's family, I had no idea that in the process I would make friends with a three year old, and that I would learn something about myself in the process. Sam gave me a great gift today and he wasn't even trying. He reminded me that I was a mom (because with time, my concrete role of being a mom has faded) and he resurrected skills that I no longer use, but certainly used for seven years of Mattie's life. The beauty of Sam is that he wanted to spend time with me and interact with me. This wasn't something that was planned or was asked of him. At one point during the Bazaar, Sam stayed by my side and together we were snapping photos of the day's event. I gave him my camera and I used Peter's camera. Sam was intrigued by the pictures I was taking and he loved looking at the pictures right after I took them (the beauty of digital technology). So he asked whether he could take pictures too. This reminded me of Mattie.... monkey see, monkey do! I am not sure every adult would hand over a camera to a child, but I do believe in hands on learning, and a camera is a wonderful way to creatively learn and absorb the things around you. Below, I will share one of the photos Sam took today so you can get an idea of the fun we had together.
Before I headed back to DC, I also had the opportunity to visit with Coach Dave at his new school. When Dave saw me walking into his office with his wife and son, he got out of his chair and said I had just made his day! SO LOVELY TO HEAR!!!! The feeling was mutual. Dave is the only man, other than Peter, who always wears his Mattie Miracle wristband that we gave him in 2009. Like Peter's, Dave's wristband is also worn and is changing colors. But to me this is a symbolic representation that Mattie is always with Dave in his memory!
Here is a photo of the wonderful sixth graders who featured Mattie Miracle at their Community Service Bazaar table. From left to right are: Serena, Annie (Coach Dave's daughter), and Amelia.
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