Sunday, July 8, 2012

Sunday, July 8, 2012


Tonight's picture was taken in July of 2009. Despite the fact that Mattie couldn't walk and his mobility was quite limited, he was very much a part of all of our activities. That day, Mattie was helping us paint our deck. He even helped to scrape the old paint away. Pay particular attention to how Mattie was painting. The paint brush was NOT in his hands, but in his left foot. Mattie's left leg was named "George." Or as we affectionately referred to it as "Curious George." George was the ONLY limb unaffected by cancer and therefore not operated on, and Mattie used this leg in extraordinary ways. In fact, his left foot and toes acted more like a hand and fingers than a foot!



Quote of the day: Death of a child member becomes an important identifying piece of information about the family. It is woven into its history and into the everyday operation of members' lives. The child who has died continues to be a family member after death. Parents are forever parents of a dead child as well as of the surviving children. The dead child lives in memory. The family grieves for him and remembers him with little comfort and support from the society around them. ~ Joan H. Arnold and Penelope B. Gemma

This evening, our deck was visited for the FIRST time by this glorious sight! This is a Pipevine Swallowtail! We have planted all sorts of flowers in our garden this year, and in one flower pot, we even planted butterfly friendly seeds. I am not sure if the seeds actually worked to attract this fluttering character or whether it is just a fan of petunias, like me!

Either case, Peter and I were both mesmerized by its presence. Peter was snapping pictures of it, and I was just watching. Not unlike Mattie, trying to take a picture of a butterfly can also be elusive! Butterflies and nature help me feel connected to Mattie, and as soon as we saw this magnificent surprise this evening, we both thought of Mattie. As if this butterfly was stopping by to say hello and deliver a message. Keeping our garden alive this summer is a full time occupation, especially with 107 degree temperatures and violent storms. Nonetheless, it is within this space that we both can remember and honor Mattie, and on chance occurrences, like tonight, we have wonderful Mattie signs and symbols provided to us through nature.