Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Tonight's picture was taken in March of 2008. This was four months before Mattie was diagnosed with cancer. He seemed so happy and full of life back then. That evening, we went out into our commons space so  Mattie could learn to fly his kite. The beauty of our commons space is it sometimes acts like a wind tunnel, which makes it the perfect place to learn to fly a kite! As you can see, with some practice Mattie finally got his kite off the ground!!!! The joy of watching Mattie learn something for the first time will never be forgotten.


Quote of the day: The doors we open and close each day decide the lives we live. ~ Flora Whittemore



This morning I walked through the campus of the George Washington University. A campus that is not only in my neighborhood, but it is where I attended graduate school and worked for MANY years! In the main quad of the campus was this very large chalk board display with the words on the chalk board stating: "Before I die......" Needless to say this chalk board caught my attention. Not only because of its size (as we typically do not see a block long sized chalk board on the city streets) but also because of the three words written upon it. As I went closer to the wall, I saw this signage which I posted here. Basically the GW community is being asked to pick up a piece of chalk and complete the sentence...... before I die..... so others can read, reflect, ponder, and even respond to the writings.

 

 

Frankly this existential question is a worthy one to ponder and like the signage said, I did stop to ponder and reflect on what was written on the chalk board. Keep in mind that the reflections came most likely from undergraduates. I was SO appalled by the responses that I did not photograph them. For example, one response to "Before I die..." was: "to experience as many STD's as possible!" There were others just as thoughtless, careless, and demeaning. I factor in the age group and demographics and this helps to explain part of the insensitivity. The age of invincibility! Yet given the quality and reputation of this university, I would expect better for its student body! As a graduate of the University and former educator, I was disappointed in what I was reading! Clearly privilege and a fine education doesn't lead to introspection, wisdom, and a basic desire to be a positive influence in this world.  

 

This large chalk board made me ponder what the responses would be like if this board were at Georgetown University Hospital's pediatric department? A place where children have life threatening diseases and their families are worried about the outcome and destination of their child and their lives. My hunch is the responses to "Before I die....." would be a world different than what I saw today! Our context, lens, and experiences influence our thoughts, perceptions, and feelings. The only meaningful thing written on this board today was "Do good."

 

 

As we are well into March and our clocks have sprung ahead, I noticed today that our daffodils have finally opened up in our garden. To me this seems like an official image of Spring!

Peter and I spent the evening with several members of our Foundation Walk committee. This is a team of people who we admire and we are grateful for their commitment of their time, energy, and efforts to brainstorm this event and also for their help running it. Everyone leads busy lives, but when people continue to stop and help us, I do take notice. Such efforts mean a great deal to me not only as the Foundation president but more importantly as Mattie's mom!