Monday, October 14, 2019

Monday, October 14, 2019

Tonight's picture was taken on Halloween of 2003. That was the first Halloween Mattie got dressed up and went trick or treating. He was a year and a half old. However, Mattie did not like the whole notion of a costume! Nothing scratchy, itchy, or confining! So this pumpkin sweat suit we found together was a hit!


Quote of the day: Cleanliness is a state of purity, clarity, and precision. ~ Suze Orman

I did not have the intention today to spend six hours cleaning! But I felt compelled to tackle our plant stand in our living room. I have been using this stand not only for plants but it housed many of Mattie's items and creations! Next week, we will be taking part in a childhood cancer video series, in which a producer is coming over to our house with a camera team. I have no idea what they will be filming, but one thing I knew was the plant stand as is stood did not do a stellar job at highlighting Mattie's life. It was too congested with items, items that he worked on, but not necessarily items that were very meaningful to him. I have found over the years that I can focus on cleaning Mattie items out, when I realize the state of a display or a situation doesn't do Mattie's memory justice. Photographed above were many of the items on the plant stand. It was hard to say good-bye to his Lego creations, his Indiana Jones hat, and a figure he designed with his art teacher. But each of these items was covered in dust and there was so much on the plant stand, that I couldn't see the items that really meant a lot to Mattie. So I corrected that today. Not to mention, when you start cleaning one area, I found two other areas that needed help. Which explains the six hours in total.  

One of the items on the plant stand was this turkey. Mattie built it while in the hospital. I kept this fellow for ten years, but in all reality, I kept it because Mattie touched it. I did not keep it because it meant much to him, other than it was an activity that kept him busy while in the hospital.

This speaks to my growth, as I know even a few years ago, I wouldn't have been able to part with any of these items. 

At the end of the day, this is what the plant stand looks like. The top shelf is filled with spider plants. Of course there is a reason for this. When I moved into my apartment in Boston in 1991, the previous tenant left a baby spider plant. From that baby, I have grown many off shoots over the years. Hard to believe that this plant started with me 18 years ago. Behind the spider plants are Patches ashes.

On the second shelf down, are all of Mattie's clay creations he made in the hospital. They were cleaned today and looking beautiful. 

On the third shelf down is the Lego taxi that Mattie made on his special trip to the Lego store (once we learned of his terminal diagnosis). He built this taxi with two Lego experts. Also on this shelf is a paper mache pumpkin he created, painted wood, and even a Star Wars character that his lung surgeon gave Mattie post surgery. 

On the bottom shelf, is the steering wheel that belonged to Speedy Red (Mattie's ride on vehicle) and many of the sea shells we picked up on our vacations together.