Tonight's picture was taken at the hospital when Mattie was in the midst of battling cancer. Linda, Mattie's child life specialist, made a deal with Mattie. The deal had to do with sitting through a scan. Actually scanning had to be one of the worst things for us to endure throughout Mattie's treatment. So much so that for many scans such as MRIs or CT scans, Mattie had to be sedated. Totally knocked out, otherwise Mattie's fear and anxiety made it impossible to complete the process. But x-rays Mattie tolerated. Nonetheless after Mattie went through limb salvaging surgeries, it was harder for him to sit on an x-ray table for long periods of time. If we did not get the right x-ray tech who understood Mattie, then x-rays were also a disaster. In fact, I came to learn that there were several techs who did not like Mattie. You can imagine how I felt about them!!! In any case, Mattie admired Linda's hospital badge and Linda not only made a mental note about that but worked her magic in the hospital to get Mattie his own badge. Needless to say Mattie complied that day with scanning and here was a photo of the prize he earned.
Quote of the day: Nature makes nothing incomplete, and nothing in vain. ~ Aristotle
Peter and I worked today to get our folders of material together for the February 13, think tank in Tampa, FL. The folders alone are a logistical challenge because the attendees are working in groups this year, and each group is focusing on a different component of the draft of standards. Needless to say, I am glad we tackled this today rather than next weekend. Which will be our last weekend before the think tank. This week I will be mailing our exhibit hall materials to Tampa. Just prepping that and getting things organized and ready to be mailed has taken time. But given that we experienced our first exhibit hall table last February, I feel much better prepared this year. I have a better feeling of what to expect.
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When Mattie was a baby, we also fed the birds. I think we were inspired to do this because it gave us something to watch and explore in the cold and gray winter months. Mattie loved observing and taking it all in. I will never forget the day however when we were in the living room and this huge bird came to sit on our balcony. We were both stunned! At the time I did not know what kind of bird it was or its purpose for visiting. I caught on quick though! Needless to say this huge fellow was a hawk and he came to attack our sparrows. Mattie and I got an up close and gruesome view on the hierarchy of nature. It wasn't a pleasant sight and whenever I see such a predator around now, I immediately know we need to go outside and protect the sparrows. Seeing the falcon today took me right back in time. To the time when Mattie was a baby and we had our first hawk sighting right in the middle of our busy city!
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