Thursday, October 2, 2025

Thursday, October 2, 2025

Tonight's picture was taken in October of 2007. Mattie was five years old. That weekend we took him to Butler's Orchard in Maryland. This was one of our favorite fall festivals because there was a hay wagon ride out to the pumpkin patch! In the patch, you could see the vines that the pumpkins grew on and truly it was land for as far as the eye could see. Just a special surrounding and experience and Mattie LOVED picking out his pumpkin or pumpkins in the field!  I am so happy we did these things with Mattie. I did not do these things as a child, which was why adventures with Mattie brought a whole new joy to my life. It wasn't just the activity itself that was the adventure, it was the energy and passion that Mattie instilled into each activity that remains with me always. 

Quote of the day: There are memories that time does not erase... Forever does not make loss forgettable, only bearable. ~  Cassandra Clare

Seriously, you have to be kidding!!!!! I put out two pumpkins yesterday.... one representing Mattie and the other me! Mattie and Me!!! Do you see the deer!??? She was going to chomp on this pumpkin until she saw me losing my mind inside the house! She then quickly moved along! I love our deer, but I don't want to see the pumpkins decimated the day that I purchase them!

Mattie was a big pumpkin fan, and when I moved into this house, I decided to continue the tradition of getting pumpkins and decorating for holidays. That may not sound like a big deal, but when Mattie died, I stopped all decorating! EVERYTHING!! When you lose a child, a large piece of yourself dies too. It makes it impossible to figure out how to survive in the world and you just don't have it within your heart to celebrate anything. So when Mattie died in 2009, that was the end of decorating. I only restarted decorating when we moved to this house in 2021. So that was twelve years without decorations! What changed that caused me to decorate again? I truly am not sure! Maybe the house was a new chapter, which allowed me the space to start up traditions in a way that honored Mattie's memory! However, another large factor is my parents. I decorate to orient them to the seasons! 

My dad has four physical therapists who work with him. The most recent addition to his PT team is Tiffani. Tiffani loves the way I decorate. I apparently have inspired her to create collages of her children's things, family photos, and now she is interested in many of my fall decorations around the house. She thinks I could design wreaths and sell them! She had me laughing today! Talking about this wreath today, reminded me how much I used to like crafting, creating, and when I designed this wreath in 2021, it was a happy and exciting time in our lives. A new chapter, in a house. 

If you look closely you will see a wooden truck welcome sign with hay in it and pinecones glued to the wreath.... all tributes to Mattie and his love of fall festivals and collecting pinecones. 

All these Fall decorations I purchased in 2021. I love the ledge over the front door, as I put seasonal items on it, to give the hallway its own seasonal flair. 

One of my Fall arrangements in the living room!

There are two places in the kitchen that I always decorate for the season. This is one of them! 

The kitchen has a pony wall between the kitchen and family room. I absolutely love this wall, as you can always find touches of the season on it!