Mattie's Blog and his Fight Against Osteosarcoma

Thank you for keeping Mattie's memory alive!

Dear Mattie Blog Readers,

It means a great deal to me that you take the time to write and to share your thoughts, feelings, and reflections on Mattie's battle and death. Your messages are very meaningful and help support me through very challenging times. I am forever grateful. As my readers know, I promised to write the blog for a year after Mattie's death, which would mean that I could technically have stopped writing on September 9, 2010. However, like my journey with grief there is so much that still needs to be processed and fortunately I have a willing support network still committed to reading. Therefore, the blog continues on. If I should find the need to stop writing, I assure you I will give you advanced notice. In the mean time, thank you for reading, thank you for having the courage to share this journey with me, and most importantly thank you for keeping Mattie's memory alive.

As Mattie would say, Ooga Booga (meaning, I LOVE YOU)! Vicki

November 22, 2015

Sunday, November 22, 2015

Sunday, November 22, 2015

Tonight's picture was taken in December of 2005. We took Mattie to Fort Lauderdale that holiday season and visited Butterfly World. An amazing preserve filled with all sorts of butterflies and even birds! A little piece of paradise. That afternoon we introduced Mattie to parakeets and as you can see he was intrigued, fascinated, but hesitant to feed them himself. Which is understandable considering these birds were flying freely all over the place and had no trouble landing on your head or shoulder!

Quote of the day: Doing nothing for others is the undoing of ourselves. ~ Horace Mann

Peter and I landed in Los Angeles safely from an uneventful flight. On the flight with us was a woman with a dog. This is the second time I have seen this occurrence. The dog wasn't in a carrier, but sitting right next to the passenger. Like a therapy dog, except with no special sign attached to the dog. I assume these dogs that I have seen on flights are there to assist their companion with anxiety! But these dogs always capture my attention and today's pooch was walking up and down the aisle on a leash! You couldn't miss him!

Peter captured a photo of the famous Hollywood sign as we were landing. It was a glorious weather day in LA, in the 70s, which was a lovely change from what we left in DC.

We went out tonight for dinner, and strolled through this wonderful lit shopping area. It wasn't congested, but as Peter described it, enchanting.

We took Peter to the water themed area in this complex. The water is filled with koi and turtles and every time I visit this area, it reminds me of Mattie. Mattie would have loved the metal statues of turtles and things. As you can see, Peter sat on a spraying turtle statute, with water gushing out of this turtle's mouth!