Thursday, December 17, 2020

Thursday, December 17, 2020

Tonight's picture was taken in December of 2006. Mattie was four years old. I snapped this photo because I thought it was hysterical that Mattie decided to put Peter's jeans on and walk around the house. What this photo also reminds me is that at one time we used to decorate our home for Christmas. I wasn't over the top like a Hallmark movie, but nonetheless, everything was very festive. Mattie's tradition was to put his toy Christmas train set around our tree (you can see it in this photo). The train worked on batteries and it even puffed out billows of steam.

Quote of the day: Today's coronavirus update from Johns Hopkins.

• number of people diagnosed with the virus: 17,163,944
• number of people who died from the virus: 310,095

Though bitterly cold, Sunny and I went back to Roosevelt Island today for our big walk of the day. Mind you, we walk Sunny about 3-4 times a day. When Sunny stops in his tracks and points in a direction, I know this means something is there. Sure enough!

It was hard to photograph through all the branches, but there were plenty of deer. Do you see the one on the left with his head down and a head full of antlers?

Sunny received a Christmas present today! Who says presents are just for humans?

The present was a big hit and Sunny and Peter immediately went into action!

This evening, we were invited to kick off a virtual fundraising event for Kearney & Co. Kearney has been a corporate sponsor of Mattie Miracle's since 2015. In these past five years, Kearney has donated over $10,000 to our cause.

This was the first time we have been asked to speak in front of the company! So to me this was a very exciting opportunity and the chance to personally thank them for selecting Mattie Miracle. 

In five minutes, we told them about us, Mattie, our mission, and highlights of our accomplishments. I also told them that we feel Kearney has special employees. Why do I say that? Well in 2015, when I was connected with the chair of Kearney's community service committee, we immediately clicked. He lost his mom to cancer and he understood what I meant when I said..... cancer is NOT just about the medicine. From that one phone call, the rest is history. Kearney hosts an annual Fall fundraiser, and we are the chosen beneficiary of their efforts. Truly remarkable!

Any case while we were talking, attendees of the event were writing us lovely comments in the chat box. I tried to take some photos!

We also had the opportunity to meet the COO of Kearney & Co. Brian was very welcoming and thanked us for our service to the community, especially after such a tragic loss. He wanted us to know that Kearney is in this for the long haul with us and announced that the company will be making a $10,000 donation to us this year! I am still stunned! I had no idea this was going to happen tonight. 

Tonight's video interaction and these chat messages made my Christmas. These were not gifts I had expected but ones that make me pause and reflect that others see and appreciate the value in Mattie Miracle!