Tuesday, February 7, 2023

Tuesday, February 7, 2023 -- Mattie died 697 weeks ago today. 

Tonight's picture was taken in February of 2006. This was a typical occurrence in our living room! Mattie's creations of either Legos, Tinker Toys, or train tracks in towns or cities. In this particular case, Mattie built a structure and he placed himself in the middle. Check out that smile!!!

Quote of the day: It is very strange…that the years teach us patience; that the shorter our time, the greater our capacity for waiting. ~ Elizabeth Taylor

This morning while getting dressed I received a text message from my friend Margy's husband. Ken wanted to show me the compilation of photos his iphone created for him today. These photos capture many of the times I visited Margy at her home while she was battling ovarian cancer. I remember every photo and I am glad that Ken shared them with me. Margy died in March of 2021, but her situation is still one we all can't get over. As Margy was very diligent about her health care. She always went for check ups and lived what we would deem a healthy lifestyle. Yet despite all of this she was still diagnosed with cancer and within three years of her diagnosis she died. 

I am not a big Facebook user, but Margy was the first person I friended on Facebook who I really did not know beforehand. This was back in 2015. What connected us was a mutual friend who also lost a child to cancer. Margy was that child's play therapist. Needless to say, Margy and I shared a very similar philosophy on cancer care and the impact on the child and family. Which is why when Margy died, Mattie Miracle established the M&M (Margy and Mattie) Wishes Program in her memory. In a way, the Wishes program carries on Margy's work that she did for over twenty years, in which she provided grants to children with cancer to fulfill wishes, trips, and other fun events. Events that would create lasting memories for the entire family.  

Needless to say seeing these photos caused me to pause and reflect. Reflect on how cancer took yet another special person from my life, but also these photos are a reminder about how short life is. One has to make the best of life, and better yet, as long as one is healthy, this is the greatest gift. Given my day to day caregiving struggles, sometimes I do not take the time to acknowledge this crucial reality about the importance of health. But as soon as I saw these photos, it triggered this thought process, because to me cancer changed everything for me, and even now I would still say my priorities and outlook continue to be impacted by Mattie's cancer diagnosis and death.