Tuesday, May 28, 2019

Tuesday, May 28, 2019 -- Mattie died 505 weeks ago today.

Tonight's picture was taken in June of 2007. Mattie was five years old and we took him to Pennsylvania for Memorial Day Weekend. We wanted Mattie to experience Dutch Wonderland, a theme park in Lancaster County, PA, geared toward preschoolers. 

We stayed at a Marriott, and the chef took a liking to Mattie. One morning, the chef gave Mattie his own chef's hat to wear. Mattie loved the hat so much that he wore it back to the room and while IN THE ROOM!!! 




Quote of the day: To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and to endure the betrayal of false friends. To appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; to know that even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson


Today is the first day in WEEKS that I slept for for more than 4 to 6 hours. It is glorious to have the Walk behind me and to be home. Home without deadlines and other obligations. With that said, the Walk maybe over, but the work isn't! I spent several hours this morning re-organizing Walk materials that were stacked in Mattie's bedroom. They were re-organized and stored away for next year. It is wonderful to have that behind me and accomplished! 

I can safely say that Walk items are now officially stored away. But unfortunately I am not done. I still have raffle baskets to deliver or mail to winners across the Country, donations that came in by mail/check to acknowledge, and then my focus will go to acknowledging all of our raffle donors. Of which we have around 40! Mind you, a good portion of our Walk donations were acknowledged on-line, as they came in, that same day I sent out a thank you email. Which is a blessing, because with over 300 donations, the use of technology makes processing this volume manageable. 

Posting some more photos from the Walk & Family Festival. This is a photo of two teams combined together..... Team Mattie Moon (our family's team) and That Walk Team (with my friend Peggy as its captain). Peggy had a small team this year and asked whether she could take a photo with us.  

A family photo of Peter, me, my parents, and Peter's parents!

Me with Barbara and Don (my in-laws) and Lisa (my sister in law). All three came down from Boston to attend the Walk. 

Me, my mom, and her friends from New York..... Ronee and Eugene. 

Next to me are Gary, Lisa, and their son, Zachary. Gary was a student of my mom's. Actually one of her favorite students! Gary brought his family down to Alexandria, VA from NJ to attend our anniversary Walk.  

Our photographer, Herman, captured this photo of my dad at the magic show. My dad always loves this show (performed by Mattie's assistant head of school), and I think this photo captured that feeling completely. 

Our God Daughter, Charlotte, came to the Walk with her parents. So happy Herman captured Peter with Charlotte. 

This is a photo of us with Tricia (Mattie's favorite HEM/ONC nurse) and her family. Tricia hasn't missed one Foundation Walk yet. We are deeply grateful she continues to be on this journey with us, as we think she is an incredible nurse and person. 

Left to right: Peter, Tricia, Vicki, Nicole (Tricia's daughter), Mike (Tricia's husband), Matt (Nicole's boyfriend), and Matt's mom