Tonight's picture was taken on Halloween of 2003. Mattie was a year and a half old. It was the first year, he had some understanding for the nature of trick or treating. As you can see, Mattie LOVED pumpkins. Actually he gravitated to all things orange. No surprise that year that Mattie was a "pumpkin" for Halloween.
Quote of the day: Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself. ~ Leo Tolstoy
Day one, post root-canal and there was no resting for me! I had a five hour long licensure board meeting. There is always an open session portion of the meeting in which the public can attend, ask questions, and learn about updates. This is then followed by an executive session, in which the public is asked to leave and the board members consult with the board attorney and staff about applications, ethical issues that arise for our licensees, and other matters.
I won't get into specifics, but a visitor at today's meeting, was quite inspirational. He was incarcerated at a young age, and now many years later, has put himself through school and is devoting himself to helping others. His story is quite powerful and what was equally noteworthy is he said he never wanted hand outs, he did not want things given to him, and he felt like the only one who was responsible for turning his life around is him. You can't see or read what I know about this man, but if you did, I think it would give you pause. Because if you just viewed him based on his arrest and conviction, you may conclude..... this person shouldn't be working with anyone. In any capacity! But that would be a loss to our community, because he is actually a great role model for our city. He understands the pressures on the street, he also understands what can happen without support and guidance at a young age. Because with youth sometimes one physically acts before one thinks. I have to say after he spoke, all the board was left with tears in our eyes. I assure you this rarely happens.
Today's moral message to me was that we may not be able to control our life circumstances, but we most certainly have control over how we react to them and to others in our lives.
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