Saturday, May 11, 2019

Saturday, May 11, 2019

Tonight's picture was taken on Mother's Day of 2006. That day, Mattie and Peter took me out for brunch at one of Mattie's favorite restaurants. The restaurant gave all the mom's geranium plants. You can see my pink plant on the table. I am so happy we captured this photo of the three of us, because we don't have many of them. 


Quote of the day: A mother's love for her child is like nothing else in the world. It knows no law, no pity. It dares all things and crushes down remorselessly all that stands in its path. ~ Agatha Christie


It is the last full weekend before the Mattie Miracle Walk! The final push as we call it! We loaded up the car today and filled it with everything needed for our registration event tent. We dropped off a ton of things into the living room of my friend, Christine. Christine has been our registration chair for ten years. Getting tshirt boxes and other items out of our home, makes room for other items.

Tomorrow, my friend Carolyn, who has been our raffle chair for ten years, comes over and will remove all the raffle baskets from our home. This will totally free up Mattie's bedroom. Because right now my office/Mattie's bedroom looks like a rummage sale! I truly appreciate Christine and Carolyn living in chaos for a week, because in enables us to truly prepare for the Walk. If they did not take these items off our hands, it would be wall to wall stuff for us, making it difficult to function at home. 

Today's fundraising thermometer reads.... $94,169 or 94% of goal!

Friday, May 10, 2019

Friday, May 10, 2019

Tonight's picture was taken in May of 2007. Mattie was five years old. We took him that weekend to Andrews Air Force Base's open house. It was a first for all three of us. Since Mattie loved planes, we figured he would be intrigued by this experience. It was an adventure just to get there, as they don't allow you to drive onto the base. We all saw the Air Force Thunderbirds fly over head and perform an air show. It was an awesome sight, but loud, and therefore a bit frightening for Mattie. Nonetheless, he loved all the air craft on display and the fact that he could walk in and explore the planes!



Quote of the day: Few actions of consequence in the world have been accomplished without passion. ~ Jerold Panas

I had a five hour licensure board meeting today. This meeting did not fall at a good time. Because with the Walk a week away, I am on overload. Needless to say, a migraine has begun so this is a short blog tonight. 

Today's fundraising thermometer reads: $93,657!

Thursday, May 9, 2019

Thursday, May 9, 2019


Tonight's picture was taken in May of 2007. Mattie was five years old. I think this is just a a priceless photo that captured Mattie's fun, energy, and spirit!















Quote of the day: Never think you need to apologize for asking someone to give to a worthy objective, any more than as though you were giving him an opportunity to participate in high-grade investment. The duty of giving is as much his as the duty of asking yours. Whether or not he should give to that particular enterprise, and if so, how much, it is for him alone to decide.
~ John D. Rockefeller

Today's fundraising thermometer reads.... $93,107 or 93% of goal!

In our home it is ALL WALK, ALL THE TIME. Not sure how we accomplish anything else, as I am glued to the computer for about 12 hours daily and dealing with the administration of the event. 

As I promised, here are photos of the raffle basket placards. We have another great line up of items this year! Click here to purchase raffle tickets.

1. An Apple iPad

 2. two tickets to a Washington Capitals ice hockey game

 3. Designed for the Coffee lover

                                                        4. Dining around Washington, DC

5. 6 one-day passes to Disney World or other Disney parks 

6. Lots of Legos

 7. 4 tickets to the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade. This item can ONLY be sold on the day of the event. Macy's only gives these tickets out to non-profits. So in essence the tickets are priceless!

 8. Gift cards do grow on trees. 

9. Four tickets to the Washington Nationals (includes food and parking)

 10. Have your own personalized quilt designed for you. 

 11. Scout Bags

12. Everything wine... classes and tastings!

Wednesday, May 8, 2019

Wednesday, May 8, 2019

Tonight's picture was taken in May of 2007. Mattie was five years old! He was standing on top of our laundry in his mighty Mattie outfit! I will never forget doing laundry with Mattie in our complex. As for us, laundry is on a completely separate floor. It wasn't so much an issue when Mattie was a preschooler, but as a baby, there was a lot to juggle with a baby in tow. But as Mattie got older, he would either bicycle ride to the laundry room with me, or invent some other transportation! It was never boring! I remember shortly after Mattie died, I was truly stymied doing laundry. There was no Mattie in tow, and I had no little person's laundry to do. Now almost ten years later, when I do laundry, almost the exact opposite thing happens. Instead of instant loss and confusion that I felt in 2009, now I have to try very hard to recall the days when Mattie was my laundry side kick. 


Quote of the day: Some people think only intellect counts: knowing how to solve problems, knowing how to get by, knowing how to identify an advantage and seize it. But the functions of intellect are insufficient without courage, love, friendship, compassion and empathy. ~ Dean Koontz


I had my six week follow up today regarding my kidney surgery. It is hard to believe this time has already lapsed by, because I remember having this kidney stone pain for about two months and the whole thing was debilitating. Including recovery! However, I absolutely love this doctor, so much so that after the surgery, I wrote a letter of commendation for him, my anesthesiologist, and surgery care center nurse. They were that notable! 

The doctor asked that I have an xray taken today before my appointment. I allotted two hours to get this done. However, Mattie's hospital has an absolutely chaotic radiology department. Of which they don't allow scan appointments, but instead it is all on a walk-in basis. That is a bad decision right off the bat, and then add in incompetent staff working the registration process, and it is a recipe for disaster. Things were so tense today, that patients in the waiting area were arguing with each other and then they argued with the registration staff. The whole place is not well managed. After waiting an hour, I told them I needed the scan soon as I was scheduled to see my doctor at 10:30am. Thankfully a tech came to get and I made my doctor appointment in time. 

However, while in the waiting area, a three year old boy sat next to me with his parents. A lovely family and the little boy was adorable. He spoke no English and I spoke no Spanish, but we communicated just fine. He was fascinated by my necklace and bracelet and literally my jewelry kept him busy for 15 minutes! When I have moments like this, it reminds me.... YES I was a mom, and Mattie gave me those skills. 

After my doctor talked to me about next steps to monitor any more production of stones, he then said he wanted to thank me for writing such a beautiful letter to the hospital. The hospital gave him a "spirit" pin for my feedback. He went on to tell me how important he feels it is to listen to the patient and to be readily available for them. Which is why he gives out his cell phone number to patients. Unheard of no?? Any case, he told me he trains medical students about the art of listening to patients and he has spent his thirty year career dedicated to NOT JUST THE MEDICINE! Music to my ears, and I wish every doctor were like him! He knows they are not, but said he treats his patients in the same fashion he would want to be treated! 

Of course no posting would be complete without today's fundraising thermometer. We are at $91,454 or 91% of goal. 

Tuesday, May 7, 2019

Tuesday, May 7, 2019  -- Mattie died 502 weeks ago today. 

Tonight's picture was taken in May of 2008. Mattie was in kindergarten and Peter and I were guests in the classroom, as we introduced the children to coconuts. I mean a fresh one off the tree, which looks very different from the coconut in the grocery stores. First I did a little show and tell and gave the children all sorts of facts about the tree and the fruit! Then we took the children outside and Peter demonstrated how you open a coconut. Which is always a show. At the end there were coconut treats to try! All I can say is I may have experienced only one year of Mattie in school, but I volunteered often in that one year and was very involved. 


Quote of the day: In good times and bad, we know that people give because you meet needs, not because you have needs. ~ Kay Sprinkel Grace


It was a whirlwind of a day, which started with a visit to the dentist. I had my follow up appointment with the fitting of a permanent crown. Ironically I thought the tough part was going to be the process from two weeks ago. Which was removing a part of the tooth with issues and then putting on a temporary crown. However, in comparison to that, I would say today's pain is much worse. The dentist prepared me for that, which doesn't make intuitive sense to me. Other than he is absolutely correct!

While at the dentist's office, I met a 23 year old woman who is working as an assistant, but truly isn't sure what she wants to do career wise. In any case, while waiting for the dentist, she and I got to talking. She is very personable, has a genuine interest in people, likes to talk, but is also a good listener. In any case, by the time I finished with her, I got her thinking about becoming a therapist. As I know full well the people skills she has are hard to teach! 

It was a day of non-stop work. However, check out tonight's thermometer which reads...... 90,451 or 90%. A big jump from our 88% yesterday. 

Monday, May 6, 2019

Monday, May 6, 2019

Tonight's picture was taken in May of 2008. It was grandparent's day at Mattie's school. The school celebrates grandparents every spring and there is a special concert, reception, and then a tour of classrooms. I volunteered that day, and I am so happy I did. Because it was my first and last time taking my parents to this celebration. This was a photo my mom took of Mattie and me in the kindergarten classroom! 


Quote of the day: Donors don’t give to institutions. They invest in ideas and people in whom they believe. ~ G.T. Smith

Our home is officially a warehouse! Today we got a lot of Walk items out of storage. This is always a very challenging time of year, not only with the stress of fundraising, and event coordination, but then our whole home turns upside down. 

Here are thousands of cups that we use at the Walk, as walkers earn a cup per lap. The cup is then placed through a chain link fence, and it makes quite a visual of laps and support.  

Today we had things piled on our deck and all over the house. 

This is one unhappy pooch! Sunny is not thrilled with change, noise, and forget the fact that his things were moved to accommodate boxes and items. 

Practically every wall is piled up with Walk items!

Get the picture!

This is today's fundraising thermometer. From yesterday, we jumped up $2,000. We are at 88% of our goal, or $87,973. 

Sunday, May 5, 2019

Sunday, May 5, 2019

Tonight's picture was taken in May of 2008. We took Mattie to Calvert Cliffs in Maryland. This is a special kind of nature park, because first you have to walk about a mile through the woods to get to the shore line. However, once you do though this is the surprise. A lovely little beach on the Chesapeake Bay. This beach is known for finding shark teeth fossils. Mattie and Peter would comb through the sand looking for hours. They were always successful! Every time Mattie came home with teeth, I would put them in a bag. The bag is quite full and I still have it after all these years. 


Quote of the day: Many ideas grow better when transplanted into another mind than the one where they sprang up. ~ Oliver Wendell Holmes 

I would say that Peter and I had a very productive day today. Unlike yesterday, I actually got out of our home. Though it was for running chores, it beat non-stop work like yesterday. 

When we got home this afternoon, we wrapped 10 out of the 12 raffle baskets. We are like an assembly line, as we have wrapped baskets now for ten years. We got it down to a science and I have concluded that staging the baskets (what I did yesterday) is much worse than wrapping them. But then again, I had Peter's help today. Otherwise, wrapping these things with just two hands is complicated and takes MUCH longer. It goes better with team work. 

Once we get all 12 wrapped, I will post a better photo. Which will showcase these baskets. I am still waiting for some items to come in, which is why I am on hold with wrapping the last two baskets. 

Here is a listing of the 12 baskets, and then a link on-line to purchase tickets. The great thing about our raffle is you can buy tickets but you do not need to be present at our event to win. 

1) Washington Nationals Tickets
2) Dining Around Town
3) Washington Capitals Tickets
4) Lego Collectibles
5) SCOUTing for the Perfect Bag
6) Wish Upon a Star
7) One of a Kind T-Shirt Quilt
8) Apple Techie
9) Money Tree
10) Everything Wine
11) Coffee BUZZzzz
12) Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade Tickets (These can't be sold on-line, only available on the day of the event!)

To purchase raffle tickets and read the description of each basket..... click here!

Today's fundraising thermometer reads..... $85,886 (86%)