Sunday, October 19, 2014

Sunday, October 19, 2014

Tonight's picture was taken in October of 2003. Mattie was a year and a half old. We took him to a fall festival and within the festival there was a petting zoo. I am not sure who had a better time at this event, Mattie, Peter, or me!!! I loved watching Mattie check out each of the animals for the first time. I got to snap the photos for part of the time, why Peter helped explain the animals to Mattie and then supported him as Mattie got up close to pet them. Then we swapped places so Peter could watch the process. Somewhere in our photos, we captured Mattie acting like a chicken and literally running around the pen flapping his arms. There were many sides to Mattie, which made him an absolutely fascinating child and NEVER boring. 

Quote of the day: Life begins on the other side of despair. ~ Jean-Paul Sartre

Since yesterday we spent a great deal of time captured by the computer working, today we spent more time away from cerebral activities. This is what Mattie's memorial Yellowwood tree is looking like this Fall! With the changing of the season, the tree should turn a golden yellow! Or that is the HOPE! There are three reasons why we selected the Yellowwood tree for Mattie's memorial tree. The first is there is NO other Yellowwood tree on the campus, making the tree very unique to Mattie's school. Having a special tree representing Mattie's life is symbolic to Mattie's character. The second reason is that in the Fall, the tree's leaves turn a golden yellow. Gold is the official color of childhood cancer. Therefore, that seemed appropriate and third, in the spring the Yellowwood tree flowers. Mattie's birthday is in April and to us that seemed like a lovely gift timed around Mattie's birthday.  

In September we tied a GOLD ribbon around the tree and of course all the LEGO ornaments, wind chimes, bird house, hotwheels cars, and trains hanging from the tree are all doing fine!

We ventured to Roosevelt Island today. I snapped some photos while there. This is the city of Roslyn from the Island.

The sky is SO BLUE today! Not a cloud to be seen!

This is our Classic Roosevelt Island snapshot. When we would walk Roosevelt Island with Mattie, Peter would always capture a photo in this location. As the seasons would change, he would follow them right from this spot. This huge pine tree in the distance..... I have seen in over the course of so many decades, in all kinds of weather. Whether I was happy or sad, in good times or bad. Despite how I am feeling, there it stands to greet us, like a beacon. 

I have always been a fan of ducks! Mattie loved them too. I could watch them for hours. This fellow just seemed so regal!