Tonight's picture was taken on July 24 of 2008. Mattie had been diagnosed with cancer the day before and on the 24th we went to Georgetown University Hospital and met his oncologist. You may notice a boat floating in the tub. This boat was made out of a cardboard box that Mattie constructed in the cancer clinic with his art therapists. Naturally Mattie wanted to take the boat home and float it in the tub. This was one of MANY, MANY card board boxes Mattie constructed with, and Mattie's art therapists learned quickly the importance of saving all shipping boxes that came into the clinic for Mattie!
Quote of the day: There is no point treating a depressed person as though she were just feeling sad, saying, 'There now, hang on, you'll get over it.' Sadness is more or less like a head cold- with patience, it passes. Depression is like cancer. ~ Barbara Kingsolver
Peter and I made the drive to Charlottesville, VA today for several reasons. We both needed a break from constant work. I have been staring at a computer screen day in and day out for over a month, so much so that my eyes are twitching and I am having trouble concentrating. Second, with the anniversary of Mattie's death, it is a time of year that continues to be very challenging for us, as is summer in general. Then the final reason is tomorrow is my birthday. My birthday is fraught with major issues for me. Mattie was diagnosed with cancer two days before my birthday in 2008, and somehow, that has forever changed the whole notion of this day for me. As Peter often says..... since Mattie's death, all holidays and milestones a family normally celebrates are impossible for us to enjoy any more, so a birthday is no different, and sometimes when it all gets too overwhelming we just need to get out of town.
Back in the days when Peter was in management consulting, he would come down to Charlottesville to recruit candidates at the University of Virginia. Peter had always talked about the Boars Head Inn and how special it was, so I decided we should go see it and stay there a few days, so here we are. Surrounded by the history of Thomas Jefferson ALL AROUND ME!
If there is one constant to the Washington, DC scene in the summer, it is rain and a lot of it. Today was no different. On the drive from DC to Charlottesville it was not bad, but once we reached Charlottesville, things really picked up. It was a deluge! Rain like I have never seen or experienced!
Charlottesville is known for its wineries. In fact there are 30 in the region which have been inspired by Thomas Jefferson's vision of wine making. These 30 vineyards are on the Monticello Wine Trail with all historic significance and amazing views of the Blue Ridge Mountains. My friend Annie, who lives close to Charlottesville, recommended that we visit Pippin Hill Farm and Winery (http://www.pippinhillfarm.com/). Which offers a vineyard tasting room and farm to table menu which makes it a distinctive wine and food experience. We arrived at the winery between downpours and had just enough time for Peter to take a picture of me in front of the sign and for us to make it to the covered porch.
This is the walkway leading to the winery. It was lined with beautiful hydrangeas getting ready to bloom. As you can see in the background, the clouds were approaching quite rapidly, so we moved quickly to get under the cover of the winery's beautiful covered porch.
Peter took this shot of one of the hills across the valley. There was something quite stunning about watching the storms blow through (especially because we were not really getting wet). We ordered lunch, sat and chatted and watched mother nature's show in front of us.
Between breaks in the storm, I had Peter run out and take some pictures of the grapes growing. It was quite a sight to see all these long rows of vines, some of which had grapes on them.
Peter captured the view of the valley from the porch and the table where we sat. Meanwhile in the distance we could see cows grazing, totally unfazed by the downpours!
No trip to the countryside would be complete without my favorites: cows! Sure enough, once the rain let up, we could see a herd slowing making their way across their pasture land, grazing in the rain as they went.
This is another shot of the beautiful wildflowers that the winery had planted contrasted by the rows of grape vines behind them. The sights were priceless!
After the winery tour, we traveled to the Boars Head Inn and checked into our room. Waiting for us when we arrived was a beautiful handpicked bouquet of flowers that our friends, Annie and Alex, who live near Charlottesville picked from their garden and had left for us at the front desk, as a welcoming gift to Charlottesville. I particularly like the collection of different sunflowers so prominently displayed in the bouquet. I am a huge sunflower fan! When Mattie had cancer, our care team would give me sunflowers. To me they are a symbol of happiness, strength, and courage. So as soon as we walked into our room, I knew they were from Annie. I know Annie grows sunflowers and she loves them too.
I met Annie shortly after Mattie died, while advocating on Capitol Hill. Annie lost her daughter, Eloise, to cancer 8 months after Mattie. When we met, we seemed to share many similar thoughts and feelings. Over time, we continued to write to each other and we would meet for lunch whenever Annie would come to DC. This is the first time Peter and I are in Annie and Alex's neck of the woods and it was lovely to be able to get together tonight and have dinner. As I told Annie, great sadden brought us together, but her friendship is very important to me and helps me put my own feelings into context at times which I appreciate. It is ironic that Annie's birthday is the day after mine, so tonight we celebrated both birthdays.
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