Special Olympics...

We love Special Olympics.

Joshua was introduced to it in elementary school. I think you have to be 8 or 9 in order to participate. His teacher got a few kids interested in it and they "trained" at school during part of their day.

On the day of Special Olympics, we went. We had NO CLUE what to expect. Joshua was signed up for the 50 meter dash and the softball throw. He participated in the region games and qualified to participate in the state games.

I just remember pulling up to Harding University where the games would be held. The parking lot was full...full of cars, full of vans and school buses. They came from EVERYWHERE in the state. Many of the athletes...most of them, probably...stayed in the dorms with volunteer parents, teachers and sponsors. They got to eat in the cafeteria, and experience a little bit of "college life." They thought they were so big and so important!

And as if that wasn't enough, the place was crawling with police officers and fire-fighters. Joshua was in all his glory! The fire department brought some of their big trucks, and would give the athletes "rides" up in the cherry pickers. One truck was flying a HUGE American flag. The police officers are the ones who handed out the medals. On Opening Ceremonies night, hundreds of motorcyclists from EVERYWHERE showed up. They lined up and rode around the track flashing their lights and revving their engines. The athletes went NUTS!

We walked through the gates and onto the area around the track. There were huge flags and banners blowing in the breeze. There were little tents everywhere that contained merchandise you could purchase. Other tents housed stations where the athletes could get their faces painted or their pictures taken FOR FREE! The whole place was all decked out like a big party...and it was ALL for the athletes!

Actually, one night they did actually have a big party....a dance on the empty tennis courts at the park. If you know anything about kids with special needs...especially kids with Down Syndrome...they love them a big, ol' dance!

I was IN.LOVE.WITH.SPECIAL.OLYMPICS.

When your child goes for years not feeling included, not feeling special, not being able to...and then they come into this place that is all FOR THEM, and they have a couple of days that are all ABOUT them...well, I almost cried.

Well, I probably did cry, but it was a long time ago and I've slept since then.

It didn't take long for us to realize that the 50 meter dash was not going to be in Joshua's future. Most kids with Down Syndrome, like my Joshua, are on the...shall we say...short side? We tell Joshua that he's "travel-sized." He thinks that's funny. When he was racing kids his own age who had special needs, just NOT Down Syndrome...and they were nearly 6 feet tall...well, you get the picture. He switched over to the standing long jump and had some success at that.

Success=blue ribbon.

You see, you can say things like "you are all winners," all you want, but even these kids know that blue means #1...and they want to be #1.

They also want all of their friends to be #1.

When Joshua was 16 years old, he was introduced to a sport that changed his life. I'll write about that another day.

I realize Special Olympics does not have the same meaning for everyone, or affect them in the same way. One day, I spoke to a class at a university in our "home" town. I went on and on about how much Special Olympics has meant to our family...and how much it has meant to Joshua; how it had given him purpose and self-confidence; how it had made him feel a part of something. One of the other moms on the parent panel with me was asked if her daughter participated in Special Olympics. Her daughter had spina bifida. She said, "my daughter doesn't need Special Olympics...she has her mind."

OH MY GOODNESS!

Everyone has their own opinions, but we love Special Olympics. Our family loves to attend the games and the Opening Ceremonies the night before are usually SO AWESOME! Our other children have volunteered during the games at one time or another. They love it. I mean, every athlete...pretty much...has gotten there with help from someone...parents, teachers, coaches, aides. It is just so fulfilling to see the JOY on the faces of the athletes.

"Let them praise His name with dancing..." Psalm 149:3