Do you think working in this down economy is tough? Perhaps you think handling the recent cold weather spell in the mid west has been real tough? I think in some respects we are all a bunch of light weights.
I am here to tell you that t-o-u-g-h is a relative term!
This weekend I went to see my daughter participate in the Special Olympics Basketball competition held in Forest City, Iowa. She has been involved with the Special Olympics Organization for the last six or seven years and she loves every minute of it.
A little background here...My daughter Katie (pictured) is 14 years old and she is the light of my life! She was diagnosed a few weeks after her birth with a rare condition called Williams Syndrome. This was the beginning of a new chapter in my family's life.
I think it is an understatement to say that this chapter showed me a brand new definition of tough.
It also exposed my wife Jan and me to a whole new world out there, one involving families with special needs children.
Yesterday about 150 kids with a variety of different physical and mental disabilities participated in a variety of tasks aimed at showing their skills. For about 2 1/2 hours I watched kids dribbling the ball, passing the ball and shooting the ball with varying degrees of success and accuracy. Of course that is my impression of their performances but what do I know? As I said earlier I was there to watch my daughter and while I did watch her, I also watch intently all the other participants.
But wait a minute...this is their real world. For a few hours I was in their world where I saw tears of joy and high fives all around. I saw dozens of volunteers giving their time and support to kids who really appreciated it! I saw kids working as hard as they possibly could to do things that any of us take for granted. I saw and experienced unconditional love from my daughter and all of her friends.
If you have never been involved working with people who are less fortunate than most of us I suggest you try it. For me it has given me a whole new perspective on life. Each and every day I am reminded of what really matters. I also know that my challenges are small compared to the obstacles that some of these kids I watched yesterday face on a regular basis. For this I am eternally grateful.
But tomorrow I will be back to the grind. Listening to the media whining about this and that telling us all how bad things are here and there but I tell you what...I am not going there because I know what really matters. Before each Special Olympics competition they have all the athletes recite the Special Olympics Oath....
I think this is the way I will approach tomorrow. What do you think?
I am here to tell you that t-o-u-g-h is a relative term!
This weekend I went to see my daughter participate in the Special Olympics Basketball competition held in Forest City, Iowa. She has been involved with the Special Olympics Organization for the last six or seven years and she loves every minute of it.
A little background here...My daughter Katie (pictured) is 14 years old and she is the light of my life! She was diagnosed a few weeks after her birth with a rare condition called Williams Syndrome. This was the beginning of a new chapter in my family's life.
I think it is an understatement to say that this chapter showed me a brand new definition of tough.
It also exposed my wife Jan and me to a whole new world out there, one involving families with special needs children.
Yesterday about 150 kids with a variety of different physical and mental disabilities participated in a variety of tasks aimed at showing their skills. For about 2 1/2 hours I watched kids dribbling the ball, passing the ball and shooting the ball with varying degrees of success and accuracy. Of course that is my impression of their performances but what do I know? As I said earlier I was there to watch my daughter and while I did watch her, I also watch intently all the other participants.
I have been to dozens of special olympics events and functions and I never get tired of them, not because of what I see but rather because of what I do not see or hear! I do not see anyone giving up! I do not hear anyone whining or complaining! This is refreshing when compared to what I see and hear out there in the real world.
But wait a minute...this is their real world. For a few hours I was in their world where I saw tears of joy and high fives all around. I saw dozens of volunteers giving their time and support to kids who really appreciated it! I saw kids working as hard as they possibly could to do things that any of us take for granted. I saw and experienced unconditional love from my daughter and all of her friends.
If you have never been involved working with people who are less fortunate than most of us I suggest you try it. For me it has given me a whole new perspective on life. Each and every day I am reminded of what really matters. I also know that my challenges are small compared to the obstacles that some of these kids I watched yesterday face on a regular basis. For this I am eternally grateful.
But tomorrow I will be back to the grind. Listening to the media whining about this and that telling us all how bad things are here and there but I tell you what...I am not going there because I know what really matters. Before each Special Olympics competition they have all the athletes recite the Special Olympics Oath....
"Let me win, but if I can not win, let me brave in the attempt"
I think this is the way I will approach tomorrow. What do you think?
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