Tuesday, April 7, 2015

Tuesday, April 7, 2015 -- Mattie died 291 weeks ago today.

Tonight's picture was taken in April of 2005, during Mattie's third birthday party. Mattie was in love with the cartoon character, Blue's Clues. So that was the theme of his party and all the activities were built around having clues and figuring out Blue's birthday message to Mattie. It is funny Peter and I were just talking about Mattie's birthday cakes last weekend. I used to go to a bakery in Maryland called Creative Cakes. They used to design all of Mattie's cakes for me. They were always absolutely beautiful and works of art.... following whatever theme Mattie wanted. At the time I always asked myself..... why am I driving ALL the way to Maryland for a cake? But I am happy I did it and captured these moments, because you can't get them back again. 


Quote of the day: What you leave behind is not what is engraved in stone monuments, but what is woven into the lives of others. ~  Pericles

Typically I am the one who books our vacations and does the planning, but for this break, Peter took care of the arrangements. He did a great job of researching a new location for us and found us what I would call.... a room with a view. Such a room is important for me because when I need to escape the chaos of all the families and crowds staying at a hotel (especially during spring break season), I can escape to this wonderful retreat. We spend a lot of time on this balcony space checking out the water, the people, the birds, and the dolphin and even the manatee! We can see all these great things and creatures from our window view!

This was our morning view
today! One could get spoiled to waking up to water, sunshine, and warm weather each day. We have a lot of bird traffic that pass over balcony, and even sparrows that come by and visit. Peter joked with me that my DC sparrows got the word out to their Florida counterparts that I was coming down here and that they should stop by my balcony because I was sure to feed them!

Unlike the past several days, today we decided to slow down our pace. So we tried to spend a few hours by the pool
this morning. We made it a whole two hours, but by that point the heat got to us and we had to go back inside. Mind you we were even sitting in the shade! By the pool, Peter made several friends. Many dads were there with their children, but they saw Peter wearing a Washington Nationals ball cap, and that inspired them to chat with him. They mistook the W in Peter's hat for a Wisconsin college basketball team, and this got them all talking! Peter of course corrected them, but once they started talking sports, well you know........

Behind my pool chair today, was this sight! If this isn't a Mattie sign, I am not sure what is!!! 

From our balcony, we see MANY dolphin. Every day! It isn't just a chance occurrence. I have even seen manatee in the water, which is a first for me. 

The sun sets are absolutely exquisite and Peter captured the progression of one last night!

The beauty of Sanibel and Captiva are they are so natural and underdeveloped. You can appreciate what is around you without the freneticism of feeling like you have to over program yourself to do twenty things all at the same time. Which is how we lead our lives in a city. I of course appreciate city life, but we all need these restorative moments.

The sun gone down.

Pelicans are everywhere and they are one of my favorite birds to watch. Especially as they try to catch fish! A pelican by sunset.