Ten years ago today, my son and I had our last face to face conversation. Matt was later shot and died. I have been asked many times over the years if time really does heal? I can honestly say for me, things get different but my heart is forever shattered and devastated that my boy is not here.
For the rest of our lives, Matthew will remain twenty-two years old.
How do I reconcile this fact within myself, my soul, and my spirit? I do a lot of “stuff”! In the first five years after this horrific day, I poured myself into anything I could. I didn’t want to feel. I didn’t want to think. It occurred to me that if I could keep my mind and my body busy with a lot of outside things, I could be ok.
It never worked! Everything I did had to do with Matt. I even ran for, the city council in 2009 and lost. I wanted to not only try and continue on with his passion but I also wanted to get a sense of what things were like for him on the council.
Matthew would come home after some council meetings and lay on my lap (like he did as a little boy) so I could massage his head. He would tell us that things were so crazy and that we wouldn’t believe some of it. I would often ask him to tell me what happened/happening that made things so crazy or unbelievable? He would always say, “I can’t’ discuss it with you, Mom” Matt was a great rule follower.
I would continue to rub his head until he was ready to run out the door again for his next meeting or event. He had an enormous amount of energy. He could never rest for long. He had many things to do, places to go, and people to meet.
Matt loved his family, friends, and community. He wanted to better our city. He knew it was going to take long hours, dedication, and commitment. He was absolutely up for the challenge to ensure our citizens lived in a place they could be proud of.
Matt always saw the amazing potential in people and our Fairfield. He was that person who would sit down and talk with you about your concerns no matter what else he had going on. I can tell you that even ten years later, people come to us and share a Matt story they had.
Each and every new story shared with us is about how Matt took the time to sit and talk with them. It’s simply amazing to us how Matt was able to touch so many lives in such a short time. But, that he did!
Here we are ten years later. My heart aches still but I am also overwhelmed by the continued love and support we receive every day. You, our community, have helped us to heal in ways that I never thought possible. Because of you, we have been able to Keep Matt’s Dream Alive by supporting youth, which in turn helps stop crime, and coming together, in all of this, strengthen's our community.
I want to thank our former and present board members, advisory board members, and volunteers, you all have been the backbone of The Matt Garcia Foundation. I want to give a huge shout out to those of you who have supported us financially, without you, none of the things accomplished in the last ten years would have been possible. Thank you to our community leaders for always supporting us and recognizing Matt. Thank you to our community at large, each and every one of you, for Keeping the Dream Alive! Here’s to another ten years.
