Monday, October 1, 2018

Monday, October 1, 2018

Tonight's picture was taken in October of 2003. Just seeing this photo makes me laugh. Mattie was a true character and Patches, our cat, had an equally strong will. Can't you just see cartoon bubbles or a caption above this photo?!!! Mattie dropped his sippy cup filled with milk on the floor, because he was motivated to reach up and touch Patches. Though Patches did not care for the intrusion, she wasn't about to give up her pouch or position. It was the meeting of the minds. Patches understood from day one that she had to be patient and gentle with Mattie. We did not have to enlighten her, she simply got it!



Quote of the day: The meaning of life is whatever you ascribe it to be. Being alive is the meaning. ~ Joseph Campbell

I would say that one of the highlights of staying at our hotel, is this incredible 16th floor lounge. The lounge is comfortable, has lots of private space, and not a lot of noise. In addition to that, there is free food, tea, coffee, waters and soda. It is ideal and we have gotten to know the manager of the space. 

Our training started today at noon, so we spent several hours in the lounge this morning gearing up for the day. 

This is what every evening's buffet looked like in the lounge!

If I had known about the lounge, it is possible that I wouldn't have booked dinners outside the hotel! 

Last night we ventured to "uptown" Dallas. It is a TON better than downtown. We ate at a restaurant called Saint Ann's. It was lovely. They found out it was our first time dining with them, and then treated us to a piece of chocolate cake for dessert.

The lovely patio at Saint Ann's. 
















We managed through the first 5.5 hours of training today. Tomorrow we start at 8am! Here's the highlight of today. There are 24 people in attendance. Besides Peter and myself, there are three other advocates. The rest are mental health providers or physicians who work with children who have cancer and their families. 

We were asked to introduce ourselves. In a few short minutes, we and I told them about Mattie and the Foundation. We specifically mentioned the psychosocial standards of care, as being our vision. Literally after we spoke, we had MANY professionals who told us publicly that our Standards are like their bible. That they use them in structuring their programs, in justifying their jobs, and the list went on. Amazing no, that it took parents like us to lose a child, to spearhead such a vital project! A project that will change the way health care is provided to children with cancer and their families.