Tonight's picture was taken in June of 2006. Mattie was four years old. That day, Mattie and his best friend from preschool, Zachary, went to Pennsylvania, to experience a Day out with Thomas. Mattie and Zachary were BIG train fans, and they must have seen every Thomas the Tank Engine movie! Not to mention they had all the trains from the series. I love this photo! They both were moving with purpose to see the trains! These two were inseparable in preschool, and this bond continued throughout Mattie's cancer journey. The truly embodied the beauty of friendship, not just in good times, but also in bad.
Quote of the day: Betrayal is like death: you never think it will happen to you. ~ Marty Rubin
Any case for me any time I see the moon, I view it as a message from Mattie. When Mattie was in preschool, his nickname was "Mattie Moon." His preschool attached symbols with the same first letter of a child's name! Needless to say, the Mattie Moon moniker stuck with SO MANY of us! When Mattie died, Mattie Moon took on a whole new and more meaningful significance!
Do you see this suncatcher? It has been attached to my bedroom window for years. My husband gave it to me shortly after we moved into this house in 2021. If you can't read it, it says, "Having you in my life is a blessing." It is hard to believe that the suncatcher remains, and all I have left are things, and not the person. Why give me such a gift? My answer is simple.... because it was genuine. Because this was us, we were a team, and just like geometry proofs have GIVENS, we were each other's givens.
This morning, while getting myself ready for the day, I heard about the death of Brian Wilson, from the Beach Boys. The Beach Boys are timeless, and they transcend SO MANY generations. Perhaps the reason why I always loved their music, was because they captured the sounds and beauty of what one would associate with California.
However, what I am always fascinated by with, is the person behind the name. I came across this article, entitled, Brian Wilson, the musical genius behind the Beach Boys, dies at 82. I truly did not know about Wilson's personal life, so reading this LA Times article was enlightening. He admits to having mental health problems. When such issues arise, I feel you just have to scratch the surface and what you will uncover is either abuse, betrayal or abandonment. Sure enough, he had an abusive father and his own therapist heavily medicated, manipulated, and betrayed him. It is an absolute wonder that with all of this weighing on him, that Wilson was able to write and create timeless and iconic songs. Not just one, but over 260. As Paul McCartney famously said, "God Only Knows" is the "greatest song ever written." He stated that it's one of the few songs that reduces him to tears every time he hears it. He also said it's a brilliantly done love song that showcases Brian Wilson's genius.
Here's another interesting tidbit, when Wilson was in high school, he earned an F for a composition he submitted in his music class. Decades later the school changed his grade to an A when administrators discovered the composition had become the Beach Boys’ first hit song, “Surfing.” Amazing no? Clearly Wilson was a person who absorbed rejection, but was passionate about his art and his convictions and they pushed him forward. Truly, you only have to hear the first few notes of his songs, and immediately you can identify them. They are that iconic.
All of this just gives me pause, because each day I face one of my greatest rejections in life..... my husband leaving me. The song, God only knows, resonates with me so! At the time the song was written (1966), referencing "God" in a title or lyric was generally considered a taboo for pop music. Yet probably what made me a musical great, was his ability to test the limits. With that said, no matter the success and his plethora of albums, the emotional issues, I have no doubt, followed him. Trauma, grief, betrayal and abandonment, can't be erased, they live within you. The challenge is not to allow them to consume you.
The official, God Only Knows video.............................
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