Tonight's picture was taken in July of 2008. Mattie was six years old and standing right by a lotus bloom at the DC Aquatic Garden. We would visit this Garden every July, in order to see the lotus flowers. Which are an incredible sight, and a must see when in DC during the summer!
Quote of the day: Every love story is beautiful but ours is my favorite. — Unknown
If you look closely at the bride, you will notice she is missing a left hand. Which is why I affectionately refer to this piece as "Lefty." When I was recently in California, helping my parents move, I came across Lefty wrapped in bubble packing material within a garage cabinet. As soon as I saw it, I knew immediately the significance of this Llardo. Naturally I brought this figurine home and we will display it as soon as it is all glued. Lefty isn't only missing a hand, but the groom was missing a head. He has been put back together and soon we will be gluing back Lefty's hand.
This figurine actually broke before our wedding. Given its less than perfect condition, we could have decided not to use it on our wedding cake or to replace it with another Llardo. But even back then I had the where with all to know that Lefty would be a great story to tell one day. This broken figurine is actually quite symbolic of life. Life isn't perfect, nor is it always pretty. But despite things happening you keep standing and in this case, continue to move forward together. Now in retrospect, this was the perfect cake topper for us. Because it does capture the essence of our relationship and marriage.
Losing a child to cancer can destroy many individuals and couples. Though Peter and I have high and low moments as individuals, we are able to manage them together as a couple. I believe this is possible since we started out as friends in college. We had known each other a long time before having Mattie, and I attribute time and our respect for each other as the key contributors to enduring the impossible.... Mattie's death.
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