Saturday, June 22, 2019

Saturday, June 22, 2019

Tonight's picture was taken in June of 2002. Mattie was two months old. Mattie's pediatrician claimed that babies don't really smile at 2 months of age, instead she told me the smirk was just the passing of 'gas.' Perhaps, but in my mind Mattie was really smiling and at a young age he had a sense of humor. 

So much so that around three months of age, I called his doctor in a panic. As it seemed Mattie was wheezing and trying to catch his breath. Given that we weren't doing anything other than being at home, I had nothing to explain this wheezing. What did it turn out to be? Try Mattie laughing. But until we figured this out, I was besides myself. I think the more animated I got, the funnier Mattie though this was..... which increased the wheezing sounds! Even when Peter got home from work, I pulled him into this problem. Years later, we shared this story with Mattie, and we all got a chuckle out of the humor of Mattie Brown. 


Quote of the day: If you seek creative ideas go walking. Angels whisper to a man when he goes for a walk. ~ Raymond Myers

We divided and conquered today. I walked Sunny and Peter ran chores. I took Sunny to his favorite spot in Alexandria to walk. There is a private high school with beautiful grounds and even a cross country wooded trail. Frankly I would never have found the trail, as it isn't clearly marked. It was Sunny who found it a year ago. What I love about the campus is I can freely walk it and the trail and feel safe. While on the cross country trail, we saw two deer. Here's the first one! 

This is the second deer we saw. It is wonderful to have access to this campus and to me it is very peaceful, compared to our city walks!

This is what the cross country trail looks like. It literally is in the woods. But these woods belong to the school. They are completely gated and you can only access them from the campus. I am so glad Sunny found them!

Later today we are headed to an anniversary party for our friends. I do not discuss this much on the blog, but the reality is we really do not go to parties anymore. I am not sure what sets me off more..... crowds of people or happy occasions. I will give you an example. A few years ago, we were invited to a wedding out of state. We went because we are fond of one of Mattie's teachers. I made it through the church ceremony, but when we got to the reception, after about 30 minutes I had to leave. We never made it to the dinner or festivities. I know others don't get me and may view my actions as rude. But certain circumstances absolutely trigger panic attacks and anxiety in me. Therefore, I am careful at what I agree to go to. 

How is this connected to Mattie's cancer diagnosis? Well I don't know exactly, other than social situations make me edgy because I know our situation is quite different from most people. In social events people talk about work and family. For me, my work is my family as the Foundation represents Mattie. What I have found is my reality is usually a conversation stopper and I will leave it at that.