Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Tonight's picture was taken in February of 2009. Mattie was home between treatments and he loved to play on the floor. On the floor one couldn't tell that he had any sort of disability. This photo captured Mattie building a volcano from a kit. Mattie loved all sorts of hands on stuff like this, especially when it also produced a mess. Mattie was intrigued at watching the red lava come out of his creation and this was one of several volcanoes Mattie built while battling cancer. In some ways, the volcano was symbolic of his own battle, and it did not surprise me that one of the stories Mattie created in the Hospital was entitled, "Mattie battles the Volcano." He even illustrated his story which literally showed Mattie trying to battle and hold back an erupting volcano.  


Quote of the day: We must believe that we are gifted for something, and that this thing, at whatever cost, must be attained. ~ Marie Curie

Peter and I are safely back in DC this evening. Fortunately DC surprised us with sun and 60 degree temperatures for our arrival. Yet despite the warmth, we could see mounds of snow everywhere. In comparison to that, this is my feathered friend who I spent every breakfast with at our hotel. This Laughing Gull was a pistol! He was very territorial and claimed this particular post each day. If other birds approached him, you would hear very loud laughing (which is what the squawking sounded like) and then he would chase these other birds away from his spot. This seagull was no dope! As soon as breakfast tables were cleared of people, this fellow would swoop down and claim uneaten food. He grabbed toast, croissants, and even SAUSAGE! I will miss hearing my friend tomorrow morning!

This is what our hotel restaurant patio looked like. For a conference themed hotel, it was actually quite lovely and had a resort feel to it. I would have to say that breakfast was my favorite part of the day because we got to sit outside and view the water, boats, and people!

To help you put this all in perspective, this is the back end of our hotel, and the umbrellas sit on the deck of the restaurant. 

Right next to the restaurant is a river walk. This walk goes on for miles. Today after breakfast we strolled along it and as you can see the sky was a beautiful blue and the weather was simply perfect. In all reality it was painful to leave Florida today. I don't know how one part of the Country can be so beautiful and another so grey. There is something to be said to being near water, it is simply therapeutic. 

Thankfully the hotel's check out time was noon. This gave us the opportunity not to be rushed this morning. Before leaving our room, I took some last minute photos from our balcony to remember our view. I just loved watching the boats and looking at the water. 

Though we stayed in Tampa, in the distance we could see St. Petersburg. This is another view from our room's balcony. I am already missing the view!

When we checked out of the hotel, our goal was to take a taxi to the airport. However, the bellman presented a different option for us. He literally packed us up in a limousine and told us the charge would be the same as a taxi. What a special way to get to the airport and I loved our driver. Our driver was from Jamaica and we had a fantastic time talking to him about his business (he is very entrepreneurial and clearly a hard worker) and politics.

After we got through airport security, Peter and I walked around the Tampa International Airport. We passed a store called Mind Works. This would have been a store that would have captivated Mattie. The window alone was a Mattie window filled with Legos. Again another example of us looking from the outside in now, rather than the inside out. 



While waiting at the airport gate today, a man with his three sons sat down next to me. I was trying to mind my own business, but with three in tow and a dysfunctional father, it was challenging not to get caught up in what I was hearing. These boys were young, made 5, 7 and 9 years of age. I am not sure what I found more disturbing, the fact that the father allowed these children to run around the airport OUT OF HIS SIGHT, or the fact that he was yelling at the 9 year old about the fact that he was expressing his feelings. It seems to me a young child shouldn't be out of the visual sight of an adult anywhere, much less an airport. But I was truly troubled by the fact that the father was yelling at his son. His son has ear issues on take off and landing when on an plane. Instead of listening to his son, comforting him, and normalizing that fear, he literally said, "you are 10 (mind you he admits to only being 9!) and you have to get in control of your emotions. I'm tired of these outbursts and we have discussed the plane before. So stop thinking about it and just play with your computer." A real ROLE model there!!! I turned to Peter and said, "this is why my profession will never go out of business." If I had no experience at being a mom, I would chalk up my assessment of today's interchange as perhaps me being judgmental. But having raised Mattie to age 7, and through cancer, I knew what I was seeing was not only simply wrong, but it was upsetting. I was robbed of the chance to parent, while this man has three healthy children, and is doing what I would deem a bad job at it. Parenting requires patience, understanding, setting limits, and empowering your child to have his or her own thoughts and feelings. 

Another highlight of my day was receiving this photo! I have a new friend. Her name is Linda. I was introduced to Linda through our mutual friend Christine. Linda is now a Mattie Miracle supporter and the title of her emailed photo was "Orange Power!" I simply love her nail color and Mattie would have been thrilled to see Linda's spirit. As I told Linda her photo made my day! What the orange nail polish signifies to me is that Mattie's story has touched another individual's life and Linda is now passing along the story. Music to this mom's ears!