Saturday, October 4, 2014

Saturday, October 4, 2014

Tonight's picture was taken in October of 2007. In the Fall, it was a tradition to take Mattie to fall festivals where he could pick pumpkins, ride on wagons, play in the hay, go down slides, and in some cases ride on ponies. When I was growing up, there weren't activities like this in which farms would transform themselves for a month and provide fun activities of all kinds that appeal to members of the entire family. With Mattie, he gave us the opportunity to experience a second childhood. However, anytime you were with Mattie, you learned something! Which is why I always say he was my greatest teacher.


Quote of the day: The greatest distance in the world is the 14 inches from our minds to our hearts. ~ Agnes Baker Pilgrim

I woke up today and wasn't feel well. I debated between calling the doctor's office or trying to manage. Since I just saw him days ago, I figured there is nothing else he is going to do for me until all the testing is done. So I just have to come to terms with this. But when you are not feeling well, the whole thing can spin out of control quickly especially when you have other things on your mind that are weighing you down. 

As the sun came out, we went out for a walk today. Walks, I find are good for me on many levels, especially when I spend a great deal of time cooped up in front of a computer all week focused on childhood cancer issues. It can be very isolating and challenging at times. Naturally when the final product is written it is a wonderful achievement, but while the process is happening, it isn't easy. In any case, we headed to the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial today. 

The two mile walk was lovely. There was a choir singing in front of the Lincoln Memorial and we stopped to listen to them. 

The beauty of the Lincoln Memorial! I remember taking Mattie to the memorial several times, but the one thing Peter and I have never done was to walk around the outside perimeter of the monument. We have lived here for years, and have never done this. So we changed that today!

From the outside perimeter of the Lincoln Memorial, there is a wonderful view of the Memorial Bridge! A bridge I traverse all the time to drive into Alexandria, VA! Every time I come back from Alexandria, I see people on the Lincoln Memorial taking photos from this exact spot! Today we walked around the Lincoln and saw this bird's eye view! 

In order to take the above photo of the Memorial Bridge, this is the spot where we were standing on the Lincoln Memorial. Peter took a perspective shot so you could see just how far up I was and how grand the columns of the Lincoln Memorial are!

From on top of the Lincoln Memorial, you can see the Washington Monument and the US Capitol in the distance. 

When we got home, I decided to snap a photo of Mattie's paperwhites! They all are blooming in this Fall sunlight. We planted them around September 8th, for Mattie's fifth anniversary of his death. Though this is our complex's common space, we use this patch of dirt to remember Mattie!

In fact, these are
"Mattie's trees!" They are located in our complex's common space as well. When Mattie was a preschooler, he and Peter planted all these trees and bushes! They were TINY back then!!!! Now some of them are 11 feet or taller. I can see all of them from my window, when I work at my desk. The bird feeder, belonged to my 85 year old friend Mary. I gave it to her before she died this March. I plan to fill these feeders this winter and when I see the birds fluttering about it will remind me of my friend Mary. In many ways this whole plot of land outside of our home is a memorial garden!