Tonight's picture was taken in December of 2006. Mattie and Peter were in the woods behind Peter's parents house. Peter spent many hours in these woods as a child and he wanted to share this with Mattie. Mattie of course already loved nature, being outside, checking out streams and bodies of water, and of course his favorite past time.... collecting sticks and branches of all kinds. Many of which usually came home with us and were added to Mattie's stick collection in our commons area.
Quote of the day: Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each new year find you a better man. ~ Benjamin Franklin
While at breakfast this morning, we sat next to a couple from Seattle. They started chatting with us and told us about their adult children, one of whom lives in DC. After she finished telling me about her children, she then NATURALLY asked me about mine. Given how I feel and who I interact with, my answer to this question is different. But this morning I was blunt. I said, "my child died." From my experience, the type of response I gave her, usually elicits one of two reactions : 1) the person finds a way to stop the conversation with me and leaves, or 2) the person says she is sorry and then asks whether I have other children. As if that would solve my grief and loss. The woman this morning provided neither responses. She actually surprised me. She first asked me to repeat what I said, because she probably thought she did not hear me correctly when I said my child died. When I repeated it, she looked visibly overwhelmed and saddened by this news. She asked what type of cancer and when Mattie died. She then told me that she volunteers at Seattle Children's Hospital and when she left she thanked me for sharing about Mattie and told me she would remember me and what I told her. I never expected that response today, much less from a complete stranger.
No comments:
Post a Comment