Tonight's picture was taken in March of 2009. Mattie was home between treatments and as you can see he was outside and in his sandbox. We had a heater outside to keep him warm since it was still chilly out. The goal was always to prevent Mattie from getting any sort of infection which could set him back health wise and time wise from getting his next round of chemotherapy. Mattie loved his frog sandbox, which maybe why it is one of the items I still can't part with. It sits outside our deck door, in our commons space. Kids from all of the complex come and play inside the frog box and on rare warm days, I can hear the fun and excitement they are having in the box. Reminiscent of Mattie's sounds of joy!
Quote of the day: Old friends pass away, new friends appear. It is just like the days. An old day passes, a new day arrives. The important thing is to make it meaningful: a meaningful friend - or a meaningful day. ~ Dalai Lama
I came across Dalai Lama's quote today and it brought me great puzzlement. I get the point about making each day or interaction meaningful. That is certainly the goal or perhaps the ideal, but I also think not reflecting on old friends and days passing is not a good plan either. Yes a new day may arise, but new friends do not necessarily replace the tried and true friends that you had. So from my perspective days and people should not be equated, so the whole quote lost me. So I spiraled downhill with it and the meaningfulness was lost on me.
I went for a walk today, in the wind and the snow. It was bitter and painful. What a start to spring. It is absolutely pathetic. This Saturday, the Mattie Miracle Cancer Foundation is being honored by Georgetown Hospital at its Pediatric Gala. We will be receiving their distinguished Flame of Hope Award. Peter and I will say a few words in front of hundreds of guests. I remember when I was growing up, my dad would always tell a joke about a man who was told that "after lunch you will have to say a few words." Just that notion, scared this fellow to death! Just think about... having to say something meaningful in a few word can be daunting and overwhelming.
I have spent weeks on trying to write out what I am going to say on Saturday. Peter is working on his portion as well. The folks running the Gala committee actually asked to see my script beforehand. However, I do not share my written words until I deliver them. That is just my own personal style. But I knew a script was needed and I will share the script in Saturday's or Sunday's blog with all of you. However, today while working on this script, I sat down and felt overwhelmed. I try to become one with my speech so that it flows more naturally from my head as I deliver it. But with my headache, I am lucky anything is flowing from it at all. Again, I remembered another one of my dad's great sayings. He says, the only way to eat an elephant is one spoonful at a time. NOW he doesn't mean literally eat an elephant, he is just talking about attacking a large task. When you look at it in total it is overwhelming, but in small chunks it becomes much more manageable. You know the saying..... Father knows best! Dad's advice definitely helped today.
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