Tonight's picture was taken in May of 2009. I captured this photo at the end of the Mattie March, on the school's track and field. Mattie was having a quiet moment with his good buddy, Zachary. Mattie and Zachary were inseparable friends in preschool. In fact, they were so inseparable that I felt like Zachary was like a member of our family! When Mattie was healthy and did not have cancer, Zachary and Mattie did a lot of physically active play. Yet once Mattie had his surgeries, that type of play ended immediately. Though Zachary was only six years old, he intuitively understood and adapted a new way of playing together. Truthfully I learned a ton about the beauty of friendship from watching these two children!
Quote of the day: Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born. ~ Anais Nin
This morning, I received a message from a dear friend, someone I have never met in person, yet over these last 16 years we have become close. She wrote.....
I am proud of the way you keep going regardless. Your dedication and perseverance and commitment to Mattie's legacy is beautiful and to be admired. What you are doing is scary and hard and lonely but you are doing this with grace and determination. You are a real life hero to so many of us!
This message meant a great deal to me, because Walk days are hard! Our Awareness Walk always transports me back in time to 2009, to the Mattie March, when Mattie was actually alive and we thought we were going to have many more years together. Therefore, to me, Walk day is always bittersweet. Now of course, being single, it is borderline horrific.
I have been glued to a computer all day today, managing photos, communications, and the administration of the Walk. I just finished working for the day. When I tell you I sat for two long stints, around 5-6 hours at each sitting. In between, I was doing daily tasks like laundry, cooking, cleaning, and taking my parents out to a late lunch.
What is very apparent is that Mattie Miracle has the best friends and supporters who walked with us today. I appreciated every photo and message that was sent to me. I also loved seeing our Mattie Miracle Walk t-shirts from past events. What this indicates to me is that supporters do NOT throw away our t-shirts, they mean something to them, and that says VOLUMES to me!
I want to introduce you to our TOP WALKERS! Each one will receive a VISA gift card!
Together they walked 174,957 steps for the Mattie Miracles!
Top Adult Walkers:
- Gustavo: 52,473
- Leni: 44,034
- Geannie: 21,854
Top Kid/Teen Walkers:
- Daniel: 26,700
- Jake: 16,087
- Gavin: 13,760
We received many wonderful photos which I posted on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Soon I will begin working on an annual end of the year Mattie Miracle video and I hope to incorporate many of these photos to share with you at a later date.
No comments:
Post a Comment