A Remembrance Video of Mattie

Thank you for keeping Mattie's memory alive!

Dear Mattie Blog Readers,

It means a great deal to me that you take the time to write and to share your thoughts, feelings, and reflections on Mattie's battle and death. Your messages are very meaningful and help support me through very challenging times. I am forever grateful. As my readers know, I promised to write the blog for a year after Mattie's death, which would mean that I could technically have stopped writing on September 9, 2010. However, like my journey with grief there is so much that still needs to be processed and fortunately I have a willing support network still committed to reading. Therefore, the blog continues on. If I should find the need to stop writing, I assure you I will give you advanced notice. In the mean time, thank you for reading, thank you for having the courage to share this journey with me, and most importantly thank you for keeping Mattie's memory alive.


As Mattie would say, Ooga Booga (meaning, I LOVE YOU)! Vicki



November 25, 2016

Thursday, November 24, 2016

Thursday, November 24, 2016

Tonight's picture was taken in November of 2008. This was our last Thanksgiving with Mattie. Of course at the time, we had no idea. We were naive and we thought our biggest challenge was managing Mattie's cancer treatment. 

 This adorable turkey hat was given to Mattie by his school counselor. In true Mattie fashion, he played along and put on the turkey hat. I snapped that photo because I thought it was a priceless moment in time. 

 Thanksgiving of 2008, was LESS than pleasant. Mattie was home and recovering from his second limb salvaging surgery. He was in over the top pain and medical traumatic stress was beginning to take over Mattie's life and ours. Mattie was absolutely miserable in his own body and was dealing with the trauma of surgeries and living in a pediatric intensive care unit for months. There was nothing we could do to make Mattie comfortable, happy, or at peace. Thanksgiving 2008 was a day of true heartache. We tried to change the atmosphere in our home by turned on the TV and watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade. That was a VERY bad idea, because it further depressed Mattie. To this day, I refuse to watch, hear, or even talk about the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade. Just hearing the name of the parade takes me right back to Thanksgiving 2008.
Quote of the day: There is one day that is ours. Thanksgiving Day is the one day that is purely American. ~ O. Henry

Today was a very long day. I would have to say I worked about 12 hours on Thanksgiving day preparations and then clean up. This is my parent's dining room table. I take no credit for this, my mom put the table together and it looked very elegant and festive.  
Meanwhile I was in control of the kitchen. I set up a buffet because it makes it slightly easier to serve multiple dishes for a group of people. Here was the menu:

 Turkey with gravy
Stuffing with apples and dried cherries
Fresh cranberry sauce
Sweet potato souffle with marshmallows
String beans with fresh mint
Candied carrots
Crescent rolls
While I am in LA, Peter remains home in Washington, DC. Peter and Sunny went to our friend's house today. They sent me this photo! It is hard to believe that just about a week ago, Ann's table was filled and covered with candy. Funny what a difference a week makes. 
Posted by The Brown Family (DC) at 2:02 AM

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