Monday, September 2, 2013

Monday, September 2, 2013

Tonight's picture was taken in September of 2008. Mattie was in the Hospital's clinic and with clay had designed a boat. Mattie decided to place some popsicle stick people in his boat and was in the process of giving these people faces! As you notice here, Mattie was wearing a hat. Needless to say this hat most likely did not stay on Mattie's head long. Mattie never liked hats, even as a baby! When Mattie lost his hair due to chemotherapy treatment, he did not seem phased by it at all. I think Peter and I were more traumatized by it. Mattie was quite happy walking around anywhere with his bald head and did not think twice about it. In many ways Mattie's reaction was remarkable and by watching him, he in essence gave us strength. If Mattie wasn't bothered by his hair falling out, we certainly weren't going to dwell on it, since there were so many other things to worry about during Mattie's treatment.  


Quote of the day: I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; and because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do something that I can do. ~ Edward Everett Hale

Tonight's quote seems perfect given the weekend we have had! Peter and I were basically quarantined at home for three days doing non-stop painting! Finally today we were able to remove drop clothes and move our furniture and things back into place. We are absolutely exhausted and throughout the weekend, I thought..... maybe this was a bad idea!!!! After all this is not a very fun way of spending three days, or a long weekend together. However, now that this is done, we truly appreciate all our efforts. Things look so much cleaner, brighter, and there is a warm glow throughout our entire first floor.

Peter and I make a very good painting team, but one thing is for certain, we were missing our littlest team member, Mattie! Mattie was a great painter and I have no doubt he would have gotten right into this project with us. Mattie was a kid, but he also understood from an early age that he was a contributing member of our family and as such, we encouraged him to participate in all activities. Including painting and other do-it-yourself projects. Peter grew up learning a great deal of carpentry skills from his maternal grandfather. I am thrilled that Peter had such a mentor, because in reality, there isn't anything Peter can't fix or do around our home. Mattie was learning these skills from Peter and Mattie really took a liking to them, just like Peter. Of course, Mattie may have also appreciated those bonding moments with Peter!!! It seems quite ironic that in during our home repairs and projects now, we THINK OF MATTIE!