Sunday, May 22, 2016

Sunday, May 22, 2016

Tonight's picture was taken on April 8, 2002, five days after Mattie was born and I was released from the hospital. What you can't see was the car we put Mattie into to drive him home. A month before Mattie was born we bought a VW Passat. We bought the Passat because of its high safety ratings and the fact that it had a wonderful trunk to put Mattie's stroller and items into! That car has been with us ALL these years and I nick named it the "Mattie Mobile." The car survived Mattie's birth, his growing up, his entire cancer battle (which meant Mattie was in the car post surgeries in which his limbs had to be completely straight, and the seats of the car had to be folded down to accommodate him), and of course all the items we have transported for the Foundation over the years. If an inanimate object could be part of the family, this car came pretty close. 

Quote of the day: Hard is trying to rebuild yourself, piece by piece, with no instruction book, and no clue as to where all the important bits are supposed to go. ~ Nick Hornby

The Mattie Mobile is 14 years old! Yet if you looked at her, you wouldn't know it! She was in great condition and well cared for. The Ford dealer today was super happy to take this car off of our hands and while I was transferring items out of the car, two people asked me about this car and if I was selling it! I have no doubt she will make another family very happy! 

Peter has been working on me for TWO YEARS to sell this car and purchase another one. But I wouldn't hear it because I was attached to my car. It reminded me of Mattie and our times together and some days when driving the car, I would still look in the rear view mirror expecting to see Mattie sitting right behind me. 

Though Mattie has been gone from our lives for over 6 years, there were still Mattie items in the Mattie Mobile. The arm rest in the back seat kept several of Mattie's toys he used to play with, the front seat had several of Mattie's creations, and the trunk also housed many of Mattie's things. So there was a lot to clean out of the car today. In fact, I NEVER thought I would be driving the Mattie Mobile to the Ford dealership, just to leave it behind today.

I photographed this portion of the back seat, because that is where Mattie used to sit. Directly behind me, the driver. We could see each other quite well that way!

This is the new car we purchased today, a Ford Escape. The name is perfect, because on any given day Peter and I do feel like we need to escape! Mattie's favorite color, which also happens to be mine, is red. So I felt that symbolically this car had to be red and given that red is one of the three colors of the Foundation, it is perfect. Since as I drive around and accomplish Foundation work, I might as well have a color car that reflects in my mind Mattie Miracle. I haven't named this Ruby Red number yet, but in time, I am sure she will have a name. Needless to say, I have placed many of Mattie's items back in the car with me. You just need to look for them, but they are there! I know Mattie would have thought this car was NEAT, given that it practically has the technology to parallel park itself, it can talk to you, and just do about anything you would want in a car. Our "little engineer" would have found it intriguing.