Monday, June 18, 2012Tonight's picture was taken in May of 2006, at Sesame Street Place in Pennsylvania. We took Mattie there for Memorial Day weekend, and he absolutely LOVED the park. Mattie was a HUGE Elmo fan, and literally left the park with an Elmo balloon we bought him, and then another huge Elmo balloon that one of the characters decided to give him for free. The park was a great experience for us since it wasn't crowded, it had just opened up for the season, and therefore everything was pristine. We also saw an amazing Memorial Day parade at the park, filled with military personnel in their regalia. Mattie also loved hearing the parade's patriotic music and watching his favorite characters walking by and waving.
Quote of the day: The outward man is the swinging door; the inner man is the still hinge. ~ Meister Eckhart
My dad sent me tonight's quote, and I must admit I had to read it several times to get it. Or at least get my interpretation of it. I think our outer shell as human beings evolves, changes, and of course weathers over time. In fact, so many things can impact our facade and throw it off balance. Yet despite everything that comes in and out of our lives, at the inner core, our personality and who we are remains stable and solid. In essence our inner self guides us during both the good times and bad and keeps us grounded or swinging in the right direction. Just like a hinge, our inner being may allow certain things into our hearts and minds to greatly affect our lives, and yet for some things we may find the hinge almost rusted out, making things impenetrable. I find the notion of grief, particularly grief associated with the loss of a child, to be one of those hinges in life. For some people, allowing the words and feelings associated with grief to swing into their lives so that they can absorb the feelings and thoughts of another's pain is possible. Not easy, but possible. For others, this hinge is closed, or not well oiled. Our United States culture breeds and almost rewards a rusted hinge as it relates to processing sadness, loss, and grief. These are taboo issues, or at least issues that are expected to be resolved or disappear in weeks, and certainly by a year. After all, grief for example is not talked about at work or with friends for the most part. It is a subject that is frowned upon, or a conversation stopper. However, if you examine other cultures around the world, they are far more progressive, and holistic to their understanding of loss and grief. Loss becomes an integral part of one's life forever, and friends, family, and communities acknowledge this loss in more open ways. I urge you all to oil your loss hinges, because from my perspective the number one way to help a friend or family member cope with loss is to allow that person to reminiscence, to talk and reflect freely, and to be present within their lives.
This morning Peter and I had a conference call with Brett, our lobbyist at Mercury. Brett has worked with us for two years now, all probono. When he signed on to help us, we thought it was only for a year, but Brett is in this for the long haul. His call today, was to get an update on our events, to talk about next steps, plans for next year, and in essence a pep talk. I am not sure how Brett knows exactly when these talks are needed, but it was very appreciated today.
Below you will find more pictures from the Foundation's Walk.
Greeting our attendees that day, was a large poster indicating our Walk sponsors and the over 40 organizations who contributed to our Walk Raffle. 
This year, thanks to ABC Imaging (http://www.abcimaging.com/), the Foundation put together some promotional signs that discussed our mission, objectives, and our Foundation Accomplishments. The last sign, shows a visual of our accomplishments with pictures from our year's events!
Though this is a family fun day, we feel the need to provide awareness and education. As you can see here, we displayed our research posters for attendees to read if they should want childhood cancer facts. 
Inside the Foundation tent is always a table which captures Mattie's memory and spirit. If you look closely on the table, our friends Toni and Brandon (Mattie's big buddy) left a beautiful bouquet of pink roses near Mattie's things! 
This is Margaret and Susan. They help run our Foundation table at the Walk. Margaret is our friend and Mattie's preschool teacher, and Susan is my friend and a former student of mine. 
This is Karen and Tina. They were working in the Foundation Tent, and also worked with me for three hours before the event started setting up tables, covering them, and helping with overall logistics. 
The photographer caught some priceless shots at the registration tables. This is Gabe, who attended the Walk with his parents. Gabe lost his sister to cancer. His smile to me is captivating, because to me it showed his anticipation of having fun. 
Our Walk Raffle is a significant component at our event. It is housed under its own tent. This year we featured 13 different raffle items! 
I love this picture because it features a mom and baby sitting with each other as they fill out raffle tickets. The raffle actually generates a great deal of excitement, and thanks to technology, a great deal of raffle tickets were also purchased on line this year.
Ann is our raffle ticket winner caller, and each year she has family, friends of Mattie, and children draw tickets out of each raffle box to select the winner.
As you can see here, this is an example of one of our thrilled winners. Annie won the American Girl raffle basket and was beaming with excitement. You can almost sense it from seeing this picture. 
Standing next to Ann are several of Mattie's buddies, Abbie (Ann's youngest daughter), and Abby and Emily (my friend Mary's children).
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