Tonight's picture was taken in December of 2004. This was classic Mattie and Patches. They were good buddies..... as they kind of trailed after each other. The irony is that Mattie grew into learning how to be a pet owner. When he was a toddler, he would chase her and try to pull on her fur. But after showing him several times how to interact appropriately with her, Mattie learned quickly. He then became protective of Patches. When friends would come and visit, who did not know how to interact with a cat, Mattie would correct them and show them. Patches was ALWAYS very patient. She never scratched or hissed at Mattie, and she sure had many opportunities to do so. But she just understood he was a valuable member of the household, and therefore bad behavior wouldn't be tolerated!
Quote of the day: To write is human, to receive a letter: Devine! ~ Susan Lendroth
Tonight's quote caught my attention. We live in the world of technology, so much so, that rarely do people write cards and letters to each other anymore. Think about holiday cards too! Do you remember when cards had hand written messages inside of them? For the most part, this doesn't exist anymore. Why is that? Perhaps technology can speed up what we otherwise would be doing by hand, or perhaps people are too busy to write in each card, or better yet we are so plugged in (if we choose) to people's lives through social media, that by the time you receive a card..... what's inside is old news!
I am so thankful to Darryl at Mattie Miracle's post office in Arlington, VA. He saw we coming in with 500 letters today in a shopping cart and he came on over to help me. He stopped working with one customer to assist me. He saved me from having to wait in the long lines. He is a God sent and makes this mass mailing season slightly more bearable!
Earlier this week, I waited on that horrible post office line TWICE to get my holiday stamps for the mass mailer. For the most part, people know they have to come into the post office with PATIENCE at this time of year. Well all except one individual. He was standing behind me and was irate that the man at the counter did not address his package. Instead he was addressing it while the rest of us waited. The man behind me shouted out.... "you have to be kidding, you think it is okay to make the rest of us wait while you do that?!" Though I understood his point, we really do not know why that man came to the counter without an addressed package. I would like to think there was a reason. In any case, I was deeply grateful not to wait in today's line!
I remember year's ago, I would hand write notes in each of our Foundation holiday letters that went out. However, now that we are at 500 mailings, there is no way that is physically possible. It is hard enough doing the assembly of this process! I instead reserve notes in my acknowledgment letters. But this assembly of letters reminds me of my friend Margaret, Mattie's preschool teacher who died from ALS. Margaret helped me with my December mailer through the years. We would spend hours on it, have desserts, tea, and chat the time away. It made a tedious task fun.
Within our December letter is also a little gift we give to each of our supporters. The gift changes yearly, but we feel it is important to give a small token of thanks because without such financial support and kindness Mattie Miracle wouldn't be able to operate. Our supporters keep us solvent but most importantly they help us keep Mattie's memory and legacy alive.
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