Sunday, May 25, 2014

Sunday, May 25, 2014

Tonight's picture was taken on May 24 of 2009. That day one of our friends brought Mattie some decorations for Memorial day weekend. Mattie decided to decorate his wheelchair for "Rolling Thunder."  Rolling Thunder is a tradition in Washington, DC, over the Memorial Day weekend in which over 900,000 motorcycles gather to do a "ride for freedom" from the Pentagon to the Vietnam Memorial Wall. The ride originated in 1988, as a march/demonstration designed to hold the government accountable for all POW/MIAs. Rolling Thunder will continue until each POW/MIA is accounted for and if you have never experienced Rolling Thunder, all I can say is it is unforgettable. Especially the SOUND! When you put thousands of motorcycles together it indeed sounds like thunder. It made an impression on Mattie in his short life time. So though trapped in the hospital that weekend (as he was most holidays!), he created his own rolling thunder within the hallways. 


Quote of the day: The person who is rich is the one who possess kindness, caring, help others when needed, gives things that money can't buy, and spend time with those who need someone to listen to their stories. Sometimes money isn't needed. ~ Ellen J. Barrier

Tomorrow I will return to posting Foundation Walk photos on the blog. Today, I am posting other photos of our day. Yesterday evening, we visited Mattie's memorial Yellowwood Tree at his school. The tree is growing and thriving. In fact it is getting quite tall! 

Recently my dad asked me what was written on Mattie's memorial plaque by the tree. So I took a photo of the plaque. I remember this tree dedication as if it were yesterday. The tree ceremony was held on May 27, 2010. That day the Heads of School gathered with us, along with the School Chaplain, and many of Mattie's classmates and parents. These families are the ones who contributed the tree to the school. Each of the children got to water the tree with a watering can that day, which in a way seemed like a symbolic baptism for the tree! The original tree that was planted in 2010 was an oak, but that tree died in the fall. At which point the Yellowwood was planted in its place. 

We spent some time outside on our deck today. It was a beautiful weather day, with not a cloud in the sky. From Mattie's bedroom window, this is my bird's eye view into our secret garden. It has taken quite a lot of time to transform this space after the horrible winter and spring we have had. 

We made the decision that we wanted to get out and take a walk today. We wanted to go to a park, which meant taking our car! That was our first mistake. Typically we go away over Memorial Day weekend, so we literally have forgotten the kind of congestion Rolling Thunder produces in DC. Roads and bridges were closed all over the place. While driving, I snapped a photo of motorcycles parked on the grass. They were everywhere!!!  

We had motorcycles parked next to us, driving with us, and basically ALL around us for as far as the eye could see. 

We managed to get to Scott's Run Nature Preserve today! Getting there wasn't as hard as getting home! Which was far more challenging. This is a preserve we used to take Mattie to on the weekends, but we hadn't been there for MANY years! Because of traffic patterns and congestion, this was the logical place for us to walk around today. 

While walking we were greeted by this huge millipede. To me this was quite a Mattie sighting! Mattie would have absolutely LOVED this creepy crawler.

The preserve has a water element to it, which is another reason Mattie loved it. The water attracts dogs and kids, and there was a lot of activity in and out of the water. We walked, we talked, and of course we always remember!