Saturday, July 5, 2025

Saturday, July 5, 2025

Tonight's picture was take on July 4, 2009. This was our last Fourth of July with Mattie. That weekend we took him to a local resort with friends. The notion was to try to have a more normal experience, and in order to make that weekend possible, we had to move heaven and earth with this treatment team. As you can see from this photo, Mattie did not want his photo taken. In fact, the whole weekend was a huge disaster, as Mattie wanted to spend more time in the hotel room, away from friends. The main take away was Mattie realized he was very different and very sick compared to his peers. It was a hard reality and truly heart breaking to absorb as his mom. 

Quote of the day: Courage isn't having the strength to go on, it is going on when you don't have the strength. ~ Napoleon Bonaparte

Somehow yesterday did not feel like July 4th. Actually no day seems normal to me anymore. One of the traditions I had with my husband, was we would always watch the Capitol Fourth on TV. Given that we used to live minutes from the National Mall, we loved seeing the festivities in our backyard! In fact, at our townhouse in the city, we could see the Nation's firework show, a show we saw in person for over two decades. Moving to the suburbs changed all of that, yet I will never forget my time living in the city. So given that I was unhappy and off yesterday, I told my parents, that we were going to watch the Capitol Fourth concert on TV. As always it did not disappoint. Though my dad doesn't recall watching the show today, I know while watching it he enjoyed the music, seeing the crowds, and observing that the military and first responders were honored! As my dad will tell you now.... he was a surgical nurse in the Army!

There were many highlights throughout the show, but I am showing you this one. A song entitled, Rescue, by Lauren Daigle. Behind her were standing first responders. Everyone from nurses, paramedics, EMTs, firefighters, and Capitol police. I have never heard this song before, and it is hard to hear in this video, so I attached the lyrics below, because you don't want to miss them. The song is deeply meaningful, inspiring, and a true tribute to all first responders.

Click on the link to see the video:

https://www.facebook.com/capitolfourth/videos/1224148932354180/

Lyrics to Rescue:

You are not hidden
There's never been a moment
You were forgotten
You are not hopeless
Though you have been broken
Your innocence stolen
I hear you whisper underneath your breath
I hear your SOS, your SOS
I will send out an army to find you
In the middle of the darkest night
It's true, I will rescue you
There is no distance
That cannot be covered
Over and over
You're not defenseless
I'll be your shelter
I'll be your armor
I hear you whisper underneath your breath
I hear your SOS, your SOS
I will send out an army to find you
In the middle of the darkest night
It's true, I will rescue you
I will never stop marching to reach you
In the middle of the hardest fight
It's true, I will rescue you
I hear the whisper underneath your breath
I hear you whisper, you have nothing left
I will send out an army to find you
In the middle of the darkest night
It's true, I will rescue you
I will never stop marching to reach you
In the middle of the hardest fight
It's true, I will rescue you
Oh, I will rescue you

For the past two days, I have been looking through countless photos to find this one! I knew it existed, but WHERE was it??? I guess I should get a gold star because at least I remembered the photo and the moment in time! Any case, as soon as I found it, I shared it with my in-laws. Notice that we were holding glow sticks. We formed them into numbers, for the year 2000! My mother-in-law told me that her mom truly loved and appreciated all the visits she had with me. That meant a great deal as this has been my family for over 35 years. What I have learned is there are some things that divorce can't touch! The reality of our family bond, our years together, and the fact that they know I always put family first.