Tonight's picture was taken in April of 2002. He was only days old. Ironically I feel that when Mattie was born, he looked more like Peter. This quickly changed by the time Mattie became a toddler. At that point there was absolutely NO mistaking who his mom was.
Quote of the day: Today's coronavirus update from Johns Hopkins.
- number of people diagnosed with the virus: 6,321,950
- number of people who died from the virus: 189,538
We visited Mattie's memorial tree today at school! This white swamp oak looks strong, steady, and beautiful. This is memorial tree #4, as the first three had issues. The School's arborist once told me that..... Mattie wanted an oak and was holding out until he got one. Mattie loved oak trees. He collected acorns every year and gave them to SPECIAL people in his life. So I know Mattie would have been happy seeing all the acorns on his tree today. Not to mention lady bugs. The tree was filled with them. I view this as a sign from Mattie to me.
The acorns with their cute caps! Ladybugs all over the tree!
We hung many butterfly ornaments today and changed all the ribbons around each of the trees in our memorial Mattie grove. While on campus, we chatted with Mattie's school counselor and all the grounds crew who have gotten to know us over the years! They LOOK OUT for Mattie's tree! We are grateful to have this oak tree to turn to every September 8th.
It is hard to believe that today marks the 11th anniversary of Mattie's death. One may think..... wow that is a long time ago, and therefore we must have "gotten over" this loss. Those of you who know me, know I despite certain words like "moving on," "getting over," "the new normal," "every thing happens for a reason," and "he's in a better place." In fact, I strongly dislike most platitudes.
The only thing time does for bereaved parents is it teaches us how to survive the impossible. As grief and loss will always be with us, but how we manage and cope with this life-long journey, our thoughts and feelings, and sometimes the insensitive things people say to us are all we have control over.
If Mattie were alive today, he would be going to college. I realize going to college now looks different because of the Coronavirus. However, I would take different over, a non-existent child any day.
Eleven years after Mattie's death, and Peter and I still flounder over how to spend this day, and of course with each year that passes, it takes more energy and concentration to remember the nuances of our son. Something I don't wish upon any parent.
Below is a message I wrote and posted at Mattie's celebration of life service in 2009. The message discusses the day Mattie was born, a story he loved to hear. He particularly loved hearing this story during challenging and stressful times, such as on August 5th, when we learned Mattie's cancer spread throughout his body, making his prognosis terminal.
Who was Mattie? Mattie was a force. He was bold, humorous, bright, strong willed, loved animals, was king of the Legos, was fascinated by anything with wheels, was our "little engineer" (at the age of two, he could disassemble and re-assemble his hotwheel cars), and as Peter often said, he was a "mama lover." He is dearly missed and forever loved. He leaves a hole in our hearts and our lives that can never be filled.
For all our family, friends, and Mattie Miracle supporters out there..... THANK YOU for keeping Mattie's memory alive.
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My Dearest Mattie,
It is said that parents love their children right from the moment they are born. However, in your case, our love for you began as soon as we learned we were going to have a baby. In fact, right after seeing your sonogram picture, we felt like proud parents. We posted those pictures everywhere. We shared these pictures with practically anyone who would listen or showed interest, and each September when I taught prenatal development in my undergraduate human development class, out would come your sonogram pictures to illustrate my points. Even my students got a sneak peek at our baby, a baby who would have a profound and meaningful impact on not just his parents but also every community he touched. Daddy and I did not only love you, we FELL IN LOVE with you, and that love grew stronger with each day. Your energy, spirit, love for life, intellectual challenges, sense of humor, and loyalty to your friends and family were only some of the wonderful traits we always admired in you.
This video is a tribute to you and your wonderful, yet short life. It seems fitting as we celebrate you, and say good-bye to your physical presence that I share the story about how you entered the world. The story of your birth had to be one of your most favorite stories to hear, and I found during times when you were reflective, overly tired, or in need of hugs and tenderness, the request for this story arose. In fact, I remember on August 5th, the day we found out that your cancer metastasized everywhere, you and I were sitting in the hospital’s rose garden, and you requested the story. It was almost as if you knew this was going to be a bad day, so in essence we might as well brace ourselves, cuddle, and prepare for this together.
Here is the story I always shared with you. A story Daddy and I will never forget. On April 2, 2002, at 11pm, I decided to head to bed. I was anxiously awaiting your birth, and as your due date approached, I couldn’t help but wonder, when will “the baby” be coming? I was restless and uncomfortable, so while in bed, I began to watch television. I was having trouble concentrating on what I was hearing, mainly because you were kicking up a storm inside of me. At which point, the kicking became so intense, that I literally felt something pop. You clearly wanted OUT, and you were going to kick your way into the world on your terms. Naturally after feeling this pop, I looked down at my tummy, and when I jumped out of bed, I realized my water had broken. This only happens to 25% of moms, and in retrospect, I should have guessed that this was just the beginning of how different our lives were going to be together. I immediately called the doctor and told her what happened. She asked if I was in pain, which I wasn’t, and she instead told me to get a good night’s rest, because my baby was going to be born the following day. Well I can assure you after hearing this news, sleeping was the farthest thing from our minds.
So on April 3, 2002, Daddy and I headed to the hospital and we were admitted to the maternity unit at 8am. The labor process began, but it was a VERY slow process for me, and at times as you moved inside my tummy, Daddy could see your head pushing against my backbone. Needless to say Dr. Mike, the anesthesiologist, became my favorite doctor that day. The hours kept rolling by, and still there was NO sign of our baby! I was getting weaker, I developed an 102 fever, and by 11pm I really had no energy to give birth to you. In addition, to how I was feeling, your oxygen supply was getting cut off, and your chin was positioned in such a way that would make the birthing process almost impossible. So it was at that point that the doctor recommended an emergency c-section. Things began to happen very quickly around me. I was signing paperwork for surgery and Daddy was being transformed by putting on a bunny suit so he could enter the operating room.
I had never been in an operating room before in my life, but I really wasn’t concerned at that point about myself. I was solely focused upon you. I was wide-awake for the c-section, but unable to see the process, which as you know, was probably a good thing. Daddy on the other hand found the whole thing very exciting, and began to videotape and take pictures of the surgery. Literally a team of people surrounded me and I will never forget Dr. Mike, the anesthesiologist who sat by my side, and talked with me and did whatever he could to keep me pain free.
When you have a c-section, your arms are strapped to the operating table, so I couldn’t move, and directly over my head was what appeared to be a rope with a clamp that was holding open my abdominal cavity. Normally by this point I would have passed out, but when it came to you, I developed strength I never knew I had. As the doctor began cutting, and finally got to you, the first thing she said was, “what is this?” That is NOT what you typically hope to hear when having a c-section. The doctor let me know that I had a grapefruit sized tumor on my bladder, and my immediate thought was, did this affect the baby? The next thing I knew, I felt her tugging, and I heard the loudest cry ever. Now here is the part of the story that I know was always your FAVORITE! I would always try to replicate the sound I heard coming from you that day, a sound that will always remain in a parent’s ear. It was a very large WAAHHH! WAAHHH! At which point the doctor told us two things: first, that you were one of the most beautiful babies she had ever seen, and second, that you had quite a set of lungs on you! I concurred with both statements.
The doctor then brought you over to me, and she felt that I needed to be the first person to touch you. So despite my arms strapped to the table, my right hand miraculously reached out and grabbed your tiny, soft, and cute foot. It was a moment I will always cherish, a moment in which I will never forget, and a moment I am so happy you too enjoyed hearing about. Each time I retold the story I felt as if it further bonded us together, and I always enjoyed hearing your comments, thoughts, and reactions to your story.
Seeing you made Daddy very happy! Though he was worried about me, since after the c-section, I had to have bladder surgery to remove the tumor, we both agreed that Daddy should stay with you and accompany you to the nursery. It is there that Daddy got to see you cleaned up, he learned that you weighed 6 pounds and 13 ounces, and that you had high Apgar scores of 8 and 9. Within an instant, Daddy became one of your fiercest protectors, and he cared for you for five days straight while we were in the hospital together. In fact, Daddy is the first person who changed your diaper, and though those were five very challenging days in the hospital, they were days that helped us form our strong family ties. Ties that were imperative and that we relied on for seven years of your life!
Your presence is so greatly missed. Nothing seems the same, is the same, looks, feels, or tastes the same without you in our lives. May you always know that Mommy and Daddy love you, cherish you, and that feeling will remain with us forever and always. Good-bye my Mooshi Moo angel and goodbye Daddy’s best buddy. With love from Una Moon and Daddy!
