Olympics of Life (Day 101 of 365)
02.28.10
Sunday, February 28th, 2010
Its been an enjoyable Sunday spent attending church, having a nice lunch, and enjoying the last day of the Olympics by watching the memorable Men’s Hockey game between USA & Canada with the kiddos. A brief disappointment after watching Canada beat USA…and if it would be anyone else other than USA to win, I’m glad it was Canada while it was held on their home turf!
Some of my greatest memories as a child was spent watching the Olympics with my Dad. He was so passionate about them and shared that passion with his children. I used to have dreams of being in the Olympics. I would often think…its never too late to pick up a sport. You know, they do have Olympic Ping Pong in the Summer Olympics…but then I watched Olympic Ping Pong on T.V and realized that ummm that wasn’t gonna happen unless I wanted my head ping ponged to death. Have you seen those ping pong competitors?! They are viciously good! So I thought I would develop a new dream…AND that would be that my children would dream of competing in the Olympics and would do it!
Even before I had children I would think how amazing it would be to be a Mother of an Olympian. How cool would that be? We all know that God had bigger dreams for me…I got to be a mother of three pretty cool kiddos that inspire me to wake up each day and make a difference in this World. When I have sat and thought about it…it seems we still continue to train for our own Olympics. The Olympics of life!
I promised honesty….so I want to tell you that at the beginning of this journey when Taylor was born. When she was 1 month old, the neonatologist told me that if she gave part of a smile then she would be a miracle…and for her to walk or talk would never happen. At that moment my dreams seemed to be shattered. At that time, there was little hope that Taylor would be able to do anything physical. I would just pray and hope that she would smile. That’s all I wanted from her…and finally on her 1st birthday at her birthday party she smiled for the first time. In fact, she couldn’t stop smiling!! A Gold Medal could never be better than that! From then on, the little things were the best and most appreciated things! Now look at her, she can’t stop talking at times!
The same emotions, thoughts, and feeling repeated when the twins were born 4 years later. However, this time the doctors didn’t have that official meeting with me like they did with Taylor because they knew I knew the drill! AND they knew I wasn’t gonna listen anyway. I knew that it didn’t matter what they said…it was really up to God. Don’t get me wrong, that didn’t stop me from taking them to countless Physical, Occupational, Speech Therapy appointments, and Doctor appointments. We are still experiencing these. This gave new meaning to “anything is possible”. I believe this now more than ever!
Early on when the Olympics in Vancouver started, Alexandre Bilodeou, who is from Canada won Gold Medal in the Alpine Skiing Event. Along with many from around the World I was touched by his win. Immediately, after his win he acknowledged his brother Frederick. Frederick has cerebral palsy. He shared how his brother was his inspiration and when there were days that Alexandre did not want to get up to train he would remember that he had the opportunity to get on skis and was able to train each morning, where his older brother Frederick did not have the same opportunities. Alexandre shared that any time he didn’t want to do something…he quickly reminded himself that he got to do it! He shared about his brother who was always happy, always cheered him on, and never complained. He felt he was doing it for him!
I often feel the same way that Alexandre feels. Therefore, when I have the opportunity to take the stairs instead of the elevator…I always do! I get to use my legs to walk up those steps!! Sometimes, I run up them! Unfortunately, for my daughters…it takes much more effort to walk up steps. Taylor is still small enough where I can put her on my back and walk up them with her. Erin is much bigger in size and has a hard time staying balanced and gets winded easily. Oh, how I know if she could…she’d be running up those steps in a second! And what if…just what if…my children, your children, any children with special needs were put in every Olympian’s life to keep going? What if that’s why they are here…to remind us, to inspire us, to push US?! I think this is brilliant!
I looked and looked on YouTube for a good interview with Alexandre Bilodeou and was unable to find one that had the interview that I had watched…due to all of the MSNBC coverage their are limited interviews available due to the copyright regulations. I was able to find this one to give you an idea.
I want you to know that even though my children have cerebral palsy, they are still blessed to do more than many others. Maybe thats why I never hear them complain about what they can’t do. AND really what “can’t do?”. We just have to get really creative thats all! Before I sign off for the night…I want to share with you one of the most inspirational stories I have ever seen. Please watch the following video. Hope this inspires you as it does me every time I watch it!
Until Next Time,
E
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It is turning out that my 12 year old is beginning to be quite the ladies man!