Sunday, September 25, 2011

Sunday, September 25, 2011

Tonight's picture was taken in September of 2008 in Mattie's hospital room. That afternoon, Mattie received a visit from Mary, Mattie's technology teacher. My faithful readers will remember that Mary tried to visit Mattie weekly during his cancer battle. Mary understood Mattie's battle all too well, after losing her mom to cancer. Mary was determined to keep Mattie engaged, learning, and connected to the outside world. She did this through technology and naturally by her using her warm, patient, and loving demeanor. Mattie and Mary had a special connection, and there would be days Mary would visit and Mattie did not even want to see a computer. That didn't impact Mary in the least, she would switch gears and find other ways to engage Mattie, while at the same time giving me a break to walk the hospital hallways. One day after Mary had worked with Mattie for an hour, I came back into Mattie's hospital room, and found that he and Mary were designing an elevator out of a huge packing box that Linda (Mattie's childlife specialist) gave him. Mary's flexibility and support will never be forgotten. I also want to note that Mary is the special person who created at least three Mattie videos with me. She designed the 20 minute video we displayed at Mattie's celebration of life ceremony and she also helped me design the 4 minute video posted to the top of this blog which I used during the Grand Rounds presentation I did at Georgetown University Hospital in May.

Childhood Cancer Facts of the Day:  10% of children are diagnosed with depression (DeMaso & Shaw, 2010).

My mom and I started our day by doing our typical 3.5 mile walk. On our way to her track I spotted this mother deer with her baby. As you can see these deer were on some one's front lawn. I honestly have never seen SO many deer. During this two week trip, I have seen deer everyday. I will greatly miss these LA Cappuccinos when I return home. I have gotten so used to seeing them and their grace, beauty, and connection to the land are things I very much appreciate.

After our walk, again I had a special sighting. I was greeted by a young buck. To me he looked so regal! I can't look at deer without thinking of the movie, Bambi. Mattie and I watched Bambi often. Naturally to me this movie was disturbing, since a mom is killed and her baby is left behind to grow up without her. I never thought in my wildest dreams that the scenario would ever be reversed. So somehow seeing these deer remind me of my times with Mattie.

This afternoon, we all went to see a musical called, The 1940's Radio Hour. The musical is like taking a sentimental journey to a bygone era. As an audience member you get to experience a "live" radio broadcast from the Hotel Astor's Algonquin Room on December 21, 1942. The spirit of that era, when the world was at war and pop music meant "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy," "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas," and "I've Got a Gal in Kalamazoo" (all of which are in the show), is wonderfully captured. Full of 1940s big-band music, swing dancing, patriotism, and old-fashioned sound effects.

I grew up in a multigenerational household. My maternal grandmother began living with my parents soon after her husband died from cancer. So by the time I was born, my grandmother was an integral part of our immediate family. As such, she and I spent a lot of time together and since she was of a different generation than I was, she introduced me to stories of her life as a young girl, her life as a young adult, the changes she observed in our Country, and naturally the things she enjoyed such as music, cooking, and her way of thinking. I have no doubt that my time with my grandmother greatly influenced me and explains my more traditional and worldly ideas and values. I tell you this because watching today's play about the 1940's, was not abstract to me. I knew many of the songs from that era and the play captivated me by the patriotism and community connections that united a Country and its people at that time.

I would like to end tonight's posting with a note from the play's director. I found her note to her audience very meaningful, and after yesterday's play which lacked direction and purpose, today's play was very welcomed. Nan McNamara wrote, "As I headed out the door for my first rehearsal to direct this production, I asked my mother-in-law who was born in the 1930's if she had any words of wisdom that I could share with my cast, specifically about radio. She answered, "the radio was everything to us, it was all we had." Nowadays, it's hard to imagine a time when any one piece of technology would draw young and old together. For my generation, it was the television. But even that -- a family gathered around one devise in the same room as entertainment -- seems to be fading away. Pearl Harbor had been the loss of America's innocence. And in December of 1942 the radio was indeed everything. The cast of characters you are about to meet are brought together by a common passion for what they do, and a common reason for doing it -- to make people forget about their troubles (in this case WWII) through the magic of radio and "the theatre of the mind." This story harkens back to a time when the Country was not polarized, and readily -- even passionately -- lived with less so that the troops overseas could have more. Americans at home sacrificed virtually everything for the greater good and the hope for a return to normalcy. It makes one wonder if we, as a Country, would so eagerly do that today? None of these characters are perfect, but they each have hopes, dreams and aspirations. And at the end of the day (or in this case, at the end of the broadcast), what's really important to them? Friends, family, connection, love. Maybe things aren't so different after all."