Tuesday, May 23, 2017

Tuesday, May 23, 2017 -- Mattie died 401 weeks ago today.

Tonight's picture was taken in June of 2009. Mattie was sitting in a wheelchair, at his physical therapy appointment. Linda (Mattie's child life specialist on the right) and Anna (Mattie's PT on the left) always thought outside the box in order to motivate Mattie to move his limbs and actively participate in therapy. That day they had Mattie moving his legs and feet by putting shaving cream on a mirror. Mattie got a real kick out of putting his feet in this mess and moving it about the mirror. What I really appreciated was that Anna and Linda understood Mattie's level of pain and exhaustion, and yet also knew the importance of keeping his body moving. Therefore these clever activities which Mattie deemed as fun really were not only entertaining but therapeutic. I would add therapeutic not only physically but psychologically (as these activities were a great distraction from our reality). 


Quote of the day: Life never ceases having a meaning for a humble person. The freedom of choice, the sovereignty that we hold over our own souls, enables a person to discover the meaning of his or her own life every day, even in suffering or death. ~ Kilroy J. Oldster


My parents and I visited the Larz Anderson House today in Washington, DC. It is hard to believe I never knew about this great house! I am grateful to the folks at Tudor Place for telling me about it. I bought tickets for my parents and I to tour Tudor Place today, but it shows how out of it I am, because when we got to the house, we realized we toured it two years ago. The staff at Tudor Place were very thoughtful and reimbursed our admission fees and suggested other local properties to visit. 

The Larz Anderson House is now the home of The Society of the Cincinnati. I have to admit I NEVER heard of the Society. But the Society is the nation's oldest patriotic organization, founded in 1783 by officers of the Continental Army and their French counterparts who served together in the American Revolution. Its mission is to promote knowledge and appreciation of the achievement of American independence and to foster fellowship among its members. Now a nonprofit educational organization devoted to the principles and ideals of its founders, the modern Society maintains its headquarters, library, and museum at Anderson House in Washington, D.C.

In the spring of 1905, Anderson House was completed and took its place as one of the capital city's most fashionable mansions—a "Florentine villa in the midst of American independence." The firm of Arthur Little and Herbert Browne of Boston designed the mansion as the winter residence of Larz Anderson, an American diplomat, and his wife, Isabel, an author and benefactress. For more than thirty years, the couple enjoyed their Washington home as a showcase for their art collection, a backdrop for high society galas, and a home from which they explored what they considered "the most beautiful of American cities."

At a cost of nearly $750,000, Anderson House included a walled garden, tennis court, and three-story carriage house and stable. The fifty-room mansion has eclectic interiors, dominated by English and Italian influences, feature the painstaking work of craftsmen who adorned the house with carved wood walls, gilded papier-mâché ceilings, ornate iron staircases, and intricate marble floors. Anderson House was also outfitted with all the latest conveniences, including electricity, central heat, telephones, and two elevators.

Larz and Isabel Anderson intended their Washington home to be a grand setting where the rising diplomat could entertain American and foreign dignitaries. The Andersons would distinguish themselves among the capital's most sought-after hosts. During the Washington social season—generally between New Year's Day and Easter—the Andersons held diplomatic and inaugural receptions, formal dinners and luncheons, concerts, and dramatic performances. Their guest lists included Presidents William H. Taft and Calvin Coolidge, Gen. John J. Pershing, Henry A. du Pont, and members of the Vanderbilt family.

The charming backyard, which is NOW used for weddings and other private events!

To the Andersons, their Washington home represented the culmination of what America's founders, including George Washington, hoped their capital city would become—a grand, modern city to rival European capitals, but with a patriotic identity and a sense of history that would make it distinctly American. When Larz Anderson died in 1937 with no children, his widow oversaw the gift of Anderson House and its contents to the Society of the Cincinnati, of which Larz had been a devoted member. 

Imagine that in front of this fireplace once stood Winston Churchill. 

Quite a dining room. You should note that the majority of entertaining space was on the second floor of this home. 

The home is filled with incredible tapestries and paintings. Art which filled up an entire wall!

The entrance doors to the front of the home. My parents are standing under them. But you can imagine the grandness of this space in the early 1900's!