Tonight's picture was taken on Mother's Day of 2007. We went out for brunch together in Maryland, at one of Mattie's favorite restaurants. This restaurant has a huge pond out front with turtles in it and fish. Mattie loved it and when he got tired of sitting still inside the restaurant, Peter would take Mattie outside for an adventure. In this photo Mattie was posing for the camera and with his arms he was trying to express how much he loved me, which was very sweet! A lovely mother's day gift to remember.
Quote of the day: Mothers hold their children’s hands for a short while, but their hearts forever. ~ Author Unknown
Though on some level I knew today was Mother's Day, I was so busy with Foundation Walk plans, I literally worked the entire day. From the moment I woke up, until I stopped to write this blog tonight. I am not sure if that is a good or a bad thing. Working so intensely comes at a high price, but it is what it takes to get the job done to pull off such a fundraiser for our Foundation. It is the complexities of running a company without a staff.
I am happy to report that our fundraising total so far is over $51,000, and our 17 teams have currently raised over $15,000! It is beyond impressive what a group of committed people have achieved in a month's time!
I received many lovely emails today from friends, which I am very grateful for, one of which was from our lead psychologist who is working with us on our National standards project. She wanted me to know that she considers me the "mother of the National Psychosocial Standards Project." A very high honor given the person paying me the compliment and also the whole notion of what these standards represent (care for all children with cancer). This comment has stayed with me the entire day and probably will for quite some time to come!
The origin of Mother's day in the United States is worth reflecting on. It did not start out as a holiday of commercialism. Instead, it all started after a woman lost her mom and wanted to pay tribute to her........................................
The origin of Mother's Day in the US: In the United States,
Mother's Day did not become an official holiday until 1915. Its establishment
was due largely to the perseverance and love of one daughter, Anna Jarvis.
Anna's mother had provided strength and support as the family made their home
in West Virginia and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania where her father served as a
minister. As a girl, Anna had helped her mother take care of her garden, mostly
filled with white carnations, her mother's favorite flower. When Mrs. Jarvis
died on May 5, 1905, Anna was determined to honor her. She asked the minister
at her church in West Virginia to give a sermon in her mother's memory. On the
same Sunday in Philadelphia, their minister honored Mrs. Jarvis and all mothers
with a special Mother's Day service. Anna Jarvis began writing to congressmen,
asking them to set aside a day to honor mothers. In 1910, the governor of West
Virginia proclaimed the second Sunday in May as Mother's Day and a year later
every state celebrated it.
My friend and colleague, Jean, sent me a Mother's Day email message. It is a message that was circulated through a mother's group. I found it so meaningful regarding the loss of a child that I decided to post it below:
Before we head into Mother’s Day Weekend, I just wanted to
remind you to reach out to your friends who’ve lost children. It’s hard to talk
about this, but we can do hard things. What I’ve learned from Jessica and from
hundreds of other bereaved mamas is that there is nothing we can do or say to
make it better. Just not a thing. It’s the worst thing in the world, losing a
child. It is the ultimate tragedy, pain unparalleled -- and nothing helps.
But there is something that makes it worse for the mother --
and that’s when others stop mentioning the angel she lost. I’ve come to believe
that friends don’t fall away because they don’t care, but because they don’t
know what to say to their friend to make it better.
And so what I’m suggesting is that you shouldn’t worry about
that, because you can’t make it better. You can’t fix a friend's grief, but
that’s okay because grief isn’t supposed to be fixed. It’s not something we
need to grab from away from each other. Grief is holy. Your friend doesn’t want
it taken away from her. Sometimes a mama’s boundless grief is the only proof
she has left that she loved boundlessly. Great grief is the price of great
love. So forget about making it better. Just call, or email and say: I am
thinking of you. And of your baby. And I love you. And I’m so sorry. You are
not alone.
That’s all, That’s all we can do. We don’t have to make it
better. We just have to remember. You know that word: remember? I love it. Opposite of
dismember. Remember means to put back together. To become whole. When we
remember each other, we put our human family back together. We belong to each
other.
And to you, to you who’ve lost mothers, and to you, whose
mothers were never able to mother you at all. And to you, dying to be a mama
but not one yet. And to you, whose baby made someone else a mama, too. I’m
remembering you today. Remember Each Other.
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