Tonight's picture was taken in December of 2002. I just love it! The innocent curiosity of looking at the snow. In fact, if Mattie were alive today, he most definitely would be doing the same thing. The front door would be open and he would be checking out the snow. More likely he wouldn't only be watching he would be in the snow, but you get the point. Mattie lived in his "tot wheels" back then. Though Mattie was a late walker, he gravitated to this tot wheels because it gave him instant mobility. Not only did he get around, he flew around on this thing. I still can't get over how he maneuvered through corners and tight turns. But Mattie did it with ease. Mattie never crawled and learning to walk also wasn't of interest to him. I think what he wanted to do was run, and by the time he learned to walk, he was moving around like the wind.
Quote of the day: Don't be afraid your life will end; be afraid that it will never begin. ~ Grace Hansen
I sometimes wonder who predicts the weather in Washington, DC. Schools were closed and so was the government. The city came to a grinding halt due to the snow storm. Except there was one big problem with all of this!!! Where was the snow???? In Washington, DC we received about a half of an inch and keep in mind that it was close to 40 degrees. To top it off by 2pm, the sun came out. I really wonder about this town and the level of panic that ensues with these predicted storms. It almost paralyzes you! I grew up in New York and went to college in upstate New York, which gets a ton of snow. Somehow the north east manages snow much better than us in the mid-Atlantic region. The unfortunate part about all of this is two things. I learned to drive in Southern California. So I do not have the foggiest notion how to drive in the snow. Therefore a report of snow, does catch my attention. The second issue is that I fall victim to this DC weather insanity. So much so that I will convince myself that I shouldn't drive a car and chance it.
However, logic and reasoning took over today and when I saw the snow was stopping, read the weather updates, and saw the roads, I decided to venture out! One of the things I did today was help my friend wrap holiday presents. I have done this since 2009, the year Mattie died. It is almost like a tradition, as odd as that sounds. While at her house, I had the chance to chat with her in-laws who are staying with her. My friend's father-in-law and my mom have one very specific thing in common and that is Dewitt Clinton High School in New York. My friend's father-in-law went there as a student and my mom taught mathematics there for many years. Unlike myself, my mom is gifted in math, and apparently so much so that she inspired my lifetime friend, Karen to become a math teacher.
But here is the interesting thing. My friend's father-in-law mentioned that he loved his math teacher. As a kid I heard every practical story about the math department from my mom so I decided to ask him who his teacher was and he told me..... Mrs. Gildenberg! I knew exactly who this was! Because Mrs. Gildenberg was Emily to me. Emily was significantly older than my mom, but she was my mom's math mentor and also one of her closest friends. I spent many, many holidays with Emily, her husband, and her sister. She was a part of our family. I did not have the heart to tell her devoted student that she suffered a painful death with a cancerous blood disease. I know this because my mom was literally with her until the end. Though my mom and I don't talk about Emily now, I remember as a teenager that her death caused my mom great pain.
It seems amazing today to be talking about Emily. Here was a person before me that knew NOT Emily the person, but Emily the educator. My mom used to tell me how gifted Emily was, but to hear it from a former student was powerful. This is the beauty I think of being a teacher. Unlike any other profession. You have NO idea what minds and hearts you influence and change. Emily may be gone, but her memory, her skills, and her presence continues to live on in her students. Teaching someone a skill has got to be one of the greatest gifts we can give another person.
Switching gears, today I received the link below from the American Psychosocial Oncology Society (APOS). APOS is the national organization the Foundation became connected with this year. In February 2014, we will be hosting our second think tank at their conference. APOS gave us the opportunity to let their membership learn more about Mattie Miracle and our continued connections.
http://cmg-apos.informz.net/admin31/content/template.asp?sid=35177&ptid=952&brandid=4352&uid=1020251434&mi=3677081&ps=35177
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