Thursday, November 7, 2013

Thursday, November 7, 2013

Tonight's picture was taken in October of 2008. Mattie went to visit his friends Campbell and Livi one weekend. This was before Mattie had his first limb salvaging surgery. Needless to say even on chemo, Mattie was full of life. As you can see he was pulling a wagon with his friends in it. What changed Mattie forever was his surgeries. They left him physically impaired and the combination of that along with chemotherapy was just too toxic to imagine on the mind, body, and spirit.


Quote of the day: Anything that you learn becomes your wealth, a wealth that cannot be taken away from you; whether you learn it in a building called school or in the school of life. To learn something new is a timeless pleasure and a valuable treasure. And not all things that you learn are taught to you, but many things that you learn you realize you have taught yourself. ~ C. JoyBell C.

Today I was all over town collecting candy. My first stop was at the Lab School of Washington, DC. We were connected to this School by one of Mattie's babysitters, who is now a speech pathologist at the School. Alyx recommended that the School give part of its post-Halloween candy collection to our Foundation. I remember Alyx fondly and though she did not work long with Mattie, Mattie got along with her splendidly. She just understands children and especially children who are creative. I had the opportunity to meet many of the students today who collected the candy and sorted it into bags for us. I even took several photos with the kids, their teachers, and the assistant head of the school. I received permission to post a picture with the children in our newsletter, but I did not receive permission for other formats. Which is why I am only showing you the candy on the blog. I am happy to report that what was loaded into my trunk was 250 pounds of candy!!! Rather impressive, no?

The beauty of the Lab School is its incorporation of the arts into every classroom activity. I don't know about you, but I know I learn a whole lot better with hands on activities. It seems to me by doing a creative project it literally cements the concepts into one's head. Not just cramming it in for a test, but it becomes part of you. This photo is one example of such an amazing hands on creativity activity. The display was created by several classrooms to represent the Day of the Dead. The Day of the Dead is a Mexican holiday celebrated throughout Mexico and around the world in other cultures. The holiday focuses on gatherings of family and friends to pray for and remember friends and family members who have died. It is particularly celebrated in Mexico, where the day is a bank holiday. The celebration takes place on October 31, November 1 and November 2, in connection with the Christian triduum of Hallowmas: All Hallows' Eve, All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day. Traditions connected with the holiday include building private altars called ofrendas honoring the deceased using sugar skulls, marigolds, and the favorite foods and beverages of the departed and visiting graves with these as gifts. They also leave possessions of the deceased.

What is noteworthy about this display, besides its rich color and creativity, is that it incorporates science, art, and history. All the skeletons in the room can actually move. They are powered by circuits and batteries that the children learned to wire up, and on the walls are glorious paper monarch butterflies to represent the legend of the monarch migration that occurs during the Day of the Dead. In addition, there are photos displayed of loved ones who died in the room. Which I thought was a very lovely and meaningful tribute to the whole purpose of the Day of the Dead. I am not saying this will change a child's mind set about the concept of death, but to me this definitely makes the subject matte more approachable. That caught my attention.

Later this afternoon, I drove to my friend Tina's house. Tina collects candy for the Foundation at local schools and other centers. Tina's collection (though I did not weigh it yet, like I did with the Lab School) I am sure is close to 300 pounds if not more. So there is a lot of sorting going on at our home to say the least.