Saturday, August 16, 2014

Saturday, August 16, 2014

Tonight's picture was taken on August 22 of 2009. What Mattie was holding in his hand was his tooth fairy box. He lost his front tooth that day and he put his tooth in the box with the hopes that the tooth fairy would visit that night and leave him a gift. Mattie did not want money. Instead, he would leave the tooth fairy a note with a specific request each time he lost a tooth. Sometimes he would ask for a Hotwheels car and I remember on one particular occasion he even asked for a necklace made out of raw pasta. A very interesting request indeed! I remember buying that tooth fairy box with Mattie on a trip we took to Florida together. He picked it out himself. I still have this box in my nightstand (with teeth inside), where I keep other mementos of mine. 


Quote of the day: If you want to lift yourself up, lift up someone else. ~ Booker T. Washington

This morning Peter was sitting at my desk proofing the book chapter. While he was there, he received a real treat! He got to see what I have been talking about..... he saw both a monarch butterfly and a hummingbird. He couldn't capture the butterfly, but he grabbed my phone and snapped a quick photo of the hummingbird in motion. If you look closely you will see the hummingbird is flying on in and targeting my petunias!!!! 

This afternoon, we went out for a walk. I feel like I haven't moved in ages, so walking is a great plan. We went passed Mattie's favorite fountain! I can't tell you how much water shoots up from this fountain, but the spray is INTENSE! The sky was a beautiful blue and Peter seemed to have caught the perfect composition with the Washington Monument in the background. 

At the very top of the fountain are these "Dancing Waters!" Or this is what I call them! Since this is what it looks like to me. It is mesmerizing and I suspect this maybe one of the aspects Mattie found so intriguing besides the sheer volume of the fountain's water.   

The fountain is also surrounded by roses! It is a glorious spot and people who pass by can't help but stop and want to photograph this space! If the water doesn't get you, then the flowers certainly will. 

We continued walking down to the Washington Mall. We spotted the US Park Police on horseback! I happen to love horses and Peter knew I rode horses in high school. I took a photo from afar but Peter suggested we go up to the horses and the officers. So we did. 

The officers were lovely and were very agreeable to take photos and to allow me to pet the horses. The brown horse's name was "Easy" and the bi-colored horse was "Magic." Easy couldn't take his eyes off of me and seemed to truly respond to my conversation with him. Beautiful animals and if you have never rode a horse, you are missing out on a special experience and connection with a wonderful animal. 

For quite some time the tidal pool has been drained and under renovation. We used to take Mattie down to this area often and we have many photos together with the Washington Monument in the background! 

To me no trip to the tidal pool would be complete without looking for ducks! Which is why it is so nice to see the pool filled back up and to have the ducks and the ducklings inhabiting the space again! This photo was taken in honor of Mattie, who loved looking for a mother duck and her ducklings. Mattie's comment would always be, "there is a mama duck and her baby.... just like you and me." Today while I was observing this wonderful sight of this mama duck and her six ducklings, I was watching a mom and her son interact. The little boy wanted to come over and watch the ducks. However, his mom pulled him away from the tidal pool and told him, "you have seen one duck, you have seen them all!" I personally was mortified! That is totally NOT the point on so many levels! What message is this mom sending to her child? No time to stop to watch the ducks? It is a sad commentary to me, and NO, not all ducks are alike! It is like saying all people are like and therefore when you have seen one person you have seen them all! But all of that is besides the point! The child is taking an interest in something in his world and that to me is where a parent needs to step in and embrace and cultivate that interest!