Tonight's picture was taken in June of 2003. Mattie was a year old and we took him to Great Falls that weekend. Mattie loved traveling around on Peter's back. In fact, I think this is how he spent the first two years of his life, if he wasn't in my arms. Mattie loved being up high and having the bird's eye view. But he most definitely did not like the feeling of being in a stroller or strapped into his car seat. He needed his feet dangling and his hands and arms free.
Quote of the day: When the Sun of compassion arises, darkness evaporates and the singing birds come from nowhere. ~ Amit Ray
We seem to have two extremes in Washington, DC.... cold and hot! We had no in between this year and we certainly did not have a spring. We are having the hottest June on the record, and it feels more like July. The heat and humidity are intense and I practically can't keep up with keeping my flowers watered and looking healthy. They are constantly wilting! However in the midst of these temperatures, our birds are fluttering about and singing. I do not feed the birds in the spring and summer, but my neighbor has decided he wants to continue my tradition in the warm weather months. So the birds are not complaining. They are used to coming to my feeders, so we have a lot of activity about and we recently bought a bird bath, which they are now taking to like a duck to water! All I can say is prior to us feeding the birds, rarely did we hear birds singing or even hear birds at any time of day. Other than a pigeon. But we no longer have pigeons, thankfully, and have moved onto sparrows, blue jays, cardinals, grackles, and even red and gold finches!
It is hard to believe after the year we have had with Mattie Miracle that there is still more ahead of us this summer. Tomorrow we are involved in the Alliance for Childhood Cancer's Action Days and then later in July, we are hosting a symposium at an International conference in DC, along with having an exhibit table at that conference. I will be working six hours tomorrow at the Action Days. Action Days, provide a format for over 300 family advocates around the Country to come to DC to be trained on childhood cancer policy and lobbying issues. These advocates get policy training for a full day, and then the next day they visit Capitol Hill and talk with staffers about these issues as well as tell their story and experiences with childhood cancer. This helps staffers not only see a concerted and unified effort, but also understand that these issues are very real for our community. Mattie Miracle began an associate member of the Alliance for Childhood Cancer this spring and is a proud sponsor of Action Days this year. For more information about Action Days, go to:
http://www.allianceforchildhoodcancer.org/join-us/action-days-2015.html
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