Comments for matt, liz and madeline

Comment on Upcoming LLF Events. by matt

matt — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 23:21:03 +0000

@Becky

i will be at all of the events, except the hockey game (and there’s still a remote chance i make it to that one).

Comment on Upcoming LLF Events. by matt

matt — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 23:19:28 +0000

@caitlin – hope to see you at the la event. you’re right, the 5k is usually around her birthday, but we decided to split up the 5k and the celebration of hope gala this year to give both our volunteers and attendees a little bit of a break between events. the gala will continue to be on the weekend closest to her birthday.

Comment on Upcoming LLF Events. by Caitlin

Caitlin — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 23:13:36 +0000

Awesome! I may be able to go to the LA one! Out of curiosity, why are there no events on her birthday this year? I always thought of the 5K as being in her honor on her b-day. =)

Comment on Upcoming LLF Events. by Becky

Becky — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 20:23:18 +0000

Hey Matt – I bet people want to know which events you’ll be attending!

Comment on movement. by kc in the mpls

kc in the mpls — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 20:09:17 +0000

beautiful matt…was it your wedding video? i hope you were able to share it with brooke and maddy. i also hope to make one of your events this year. love seeing the updated photos of maddy. hope you are well.

Comment on questions (for maddy). by Tony

Tony — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 16:45:40 +0000

Haven’t been here in a while and it was good to read through some posts and get caught up. Stay strong and good for you to be honest and straight forward with Maddie!

Tony

Comment on it finally happened… by Mrs. Harrison Ford

Mrs. Harrison Ford — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 15:34:17 +0000

Good job, Matt! I’d like to see a herringbone braid added to your skill set. I would tackle (pun intended!) the French braid first.

Maddy, your dad is awesome.

Comment on it finally happened… by Jennifer from OH

Jennifer from OH — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 02:17:07 +0000

Awesome job, Matt! I am very impressed. I can’t braid hair and I have a 5 year old daughter. :-/ Thankfully she hasn’t asked me for one…yet.

Comment on questions (for maddy). by Samantha

Samantha — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 01:09:08 +0000

I don’t think Matt’s life is secretly a fairytale. Nor do I hold delusions that Liz is going to one day march into her house demanding to know what the heck is going on. It just hurts. It’s painful to know Matt’s ‘forever’ won’t be with Liz. It hurts to know that all she planned and dreamed will never be experienced by her, but by another woman. It’s absolutely no offense to Brooke whatsoever. She didn’t choose this anymore than Matt did. But it hurts it isn’t Liz. That’s all.

I often wonder how Liz’s family or her close friends like Anya deal with this? I’m assuming they know you still love Liz? As long as her family and the friends you both shared know this, public opinion really doesn’t matter. But it’s still difficult to know that so many think differently. Someone above mentioned the interview in the trackbacks – even a WRITER says you’ve moved on?! Frankly, it’s an insult to Liz’s memory. And I can’t imagine it isn’t painful to read. I remember a specific moment in the book where you actually internally promise Liz that you’ll never move on. I am delusional enough to believe she can hear those things. It’s been said by everyone, but I just feel bad for her.

Comment on questions (for maddy). by Abby

Abby — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 22:35:47 +0000

FWIW Matt, my mom died of cancer when I was 4. I’m an only child. My dad never remarried. He always said it would take an extraordinary woman to occupy the space in his heart my mom occupies (they were h.s sweethearts as well) and he’s yet, 16 years later, to find that woman. I certainly am not diminshing Brooke’s role in Maddy’s life – you can never have too much love! – but I hate that men like you and my dad and countless others are continually told that if they’re raising daughters, she has to have a “mother figure.” I didn’t have one and I think I turned out okay. As long as a child has one person with whom they can be given unconditional love and support, that’s all they need. My dad is my best friend. I can tell him anything and yes, even the girlie stuff. He mastered the braid as well! I know you and Maddy will be the same way. With her especially, she has been surrounded by loving female influences, such as Awesome Auntie Deb, her whole life. She’ll never go without emotional love and support, no matter who enters her life. I also wasn’t harmed by not having a sibling. I babysat as a teen and got my kid fix that way. Honestly, there are a lot of complex feelings that go with grieving the loss of your mom when you aren’t able to remember her. And YES, she will grieve. What a crazy statement to say she won’t care. Just because she didn’t know her outside the womb? THAT is precisely why she will grieve, possibly harder and longer than those who did know their parents. It isn’t easy. My mom’s wedding ring is shining back at me from my finger as I type this. I need to feel close to her. And just recalling my own experiences, if I had had a sibling and a stepmom (take it with a grain of salt, of course), I think I might’ve felt awkward discussing my mom with either of them present, no matter how close we were. And they’d always be present, being family, so I’d feel inhibited. Especially with Maddy being so young, if it were my kid (key word being “if”), I’d wait until she’s a little older and able to process it more otherwise it will, as someone else said, only confuse her to have Brooke as mom, Matt as dad, but where is Liz, her mom? She’s just so young. I’m sure Matt takes those kind of things into consideration with his choices. He’s been Maddy’s mother and father since Day 1. She will never lack for love and regardless, she’s going to be just fine. =)

You’re an amazing father and writer, Matt. I know your wife will be proud no matter what you do. She married you because she trusted you.