Tonight's photo was taken in October of 2008. I remember snapping this photo like it was yesterday. Mattie was pictured here with Linda, his child life specialist. Linda understood Mattie and was a fierce ally. She deduced that he was bright, needed challenges, to be involved in decision making, and he thrived on responsibility. Which was why that day Linda let Mattie into the child life playroom. The room was closed for a couple of hours so Linda could organize a massive toy delivery. She invited Mattie into the room to help organize and of course he landed up with a few toys in the process. A real win win!
Quote of the day: Some people seemed to get all sunshine, and some all shadow. ~ Louisa May Alcott
We are very grateful to our host committee for helping us with this new event, for reaching out to their networks, and for helping us with event expenses. I have wanted to have an evening event for years, but honestly I did not know how to even begin this executing this idea.
Then two things happened..... Debbie, our friend and the wife of a board member, invited us to have an event at her lovely home and Brett, another board member (who is now a cancer survivor), reached out to us to volunteer his bourbon distillery for a fundraiser. The timing was perfect. So we decided to combine bourbon, farm to table creations and other culinary treats, the sounds of a sought after jazz pianist in DC..... all within a beautiful setting.
The purpose of this event is to expand our network and grow our support base. A base which keeps Mattie Miracle thriving and growing, and enabling us to make the psychosocial miracles possible. We realize that our May Walk isn't an event for everyone, and we are hoping that an evening event will attract other interested members of our community who are looking for a good cause to support long term.
Certainly we welcome anyone who wishes to come. There is an $150 fee to register for this event, and $120 of which is tax deductible. To learn more, go to: www.mattiemiracle.com/bash
To me a stamp is a piece of art and sets the whole tone of an invitation. So I knew a regular stamp wouldn't do for our envelopes. So I went onto the USPS website and looked up current stamps. Low and behold I found Total Solar Eclipse stamps. Not only was the color perfect for our invitation, but the symbolism was meaningful. Especially since Mattie Miracle's logo incorporates the sun. Though the majority of people receiving the invitation will not make this connection, I do, and I also think the total solar eclipse visually speaks to what figuratively happens to bereaved parents. Losing a child to cancer in a way, blocks out all the sun from one's life. However, with support and "warmth" around us, there are times when the light (or hope) does shine through.
The United States Postal Service issued the Total Eclipse of the Sun (in which the sun is obscured by the moon) Forever stamp on June 20, 2017. The stamp includes two superimposed images, one showing a total solar eclipse and the second showing a full moon that is revealed upon heat being applied. Literally I just breathed on the stamp with warm air, and sure enough I saw the moon. My Mattie Moon!
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