Bowling Was the Greatest Educational Experience Ever

I didn't think I would ever utter a sentence like that. Don't get me wrong, I like bowling. Once I get past the loud noise, cavernous environment, wearing other peoples shoes, and smoke - oh, right bowling alley's are smoke free now; well then I like bowling. I'm more of an outdoorsy kind of person. But, then something about the competition, it gets me all fired up. I walk in with a sort of, ho hum I-could-take-it-or-leave-it attitude, and then after the first 2 frames I'm hooked. Not that I'm any good mind you! I have had more (way more!!) than my fair share of gutter balls. Personally, I'm a fan of bumpers!

Maybe that's why it was such an educational experience for me tonight. You see tonight was our grand finale for bowling with our Young Athletes. We practiced for the last 7 weeks with real bowling balls and homemade pins at our usual venue at the Paragon Gymnastics. They are so generous to donate space for our athletes every week. However, the true effect of bowling is lost without the 'alley'. So tonight (insert drum roll here) we trekked on down to Leisure Lanes where the older Special O athletes practice every week. Our young athletes got (for some of them) their first chance to bowl in a real bowling alley. Sometimes our kids have sensory issues where flashing lights or loud noises are upsetting (that sounds familiar). This alley is great that they tone down the music early in the day, and the lights are up, and they don't have strobes or other flashing lights. The kids whooped and hollered just like any other folks - maybe we got a little bit more excited at our end of the alley, but hey, we were having a great time.

This was Ellie's 4th time in a bowling alley. However, this was the first time she played. In the past, she didn't know the game, and was probably bothered by those sensory things so she was more interested in running off. Tonight she stayed, sat in the seats, cheered on her team mates and took her turn. Every time she cheered and high fived whether she struck some pins or rolled a gutter ball. The excitement of the game: playing with friends, taking turns, sharing and enjoying everyone's company - that was the important stuff. Interestingly enough, the big kids (the older sibs of our young athletes, their friends, and a wonderful older friend to our young athletes who is super Special in his own way) those big kids, and our little kids - they got the same scores. So our abilities or our disabilities, when you come right down to it: they don't mean a thing. What we really have to ask ourselves is: did you have fun? did you make friends? would you want to do it all over again? And the answer is: Unequivocably, YES! I can't wait to put my feet in someone else's shoes again.

What's your #? Mine is 9693

That's how many steps I took today.

My husband gave me a pedometer, and I tried it on today on a whim. I was curious just how much walking I do in an average day. Mind you, I haven't been running much at all since I got whooping cough. That's a whole 'nuther story. I'll write it soon.

So without a cardio workout I was curious how close to the 10,000 step goal I come on an average day. I was happily surprised to see that without any extra walking I come really close. If I had done any cleaning today or yardwork, I would certainly have made the 10,000 steps. Now according to this article at about.com my lifestyle is considered 'somewhat active' since I managed to wrack up 9,693 steps and that does NOT include any workout or walk. I just went to the WalMart Super Center. Woo Hoo! Guess that explains why I haven't gained any weight even though I haven't been running.

I am curious to see how many steps are in an average run. My next run is Saturday, and I will be sure to wear the pedometer and report back. But what I really want to know is why I still haven't lost the baby belly with all these steps?? Guess some things just aren't meant to be known.

Will you say Hi?

Such an easy word to say. Well, sometimes. If you see some one who is homeless, do you smile and say, "Hi." Or do you look away? If you see someone who is in a wheelchair, do you smile and say, "Hi." Or do you look away? If you see someone who appears to be Developmentally Delayed, or mentally impaired; do you smile and say, "Hi." Or do you look away?

I know that it is uncomfortable to be presented with the impairments of others. I know that awkward feeling when all is right in your world, and you meet someone who does not have the same abilities or opportunities or fortunate circumstances as you; and you just don't know what to say. Before Ellie was born I was like you. I didn't know what to say. I didn't know what to do. I didn't want to say the wrong things, or do the wrong things and make anyone uncomfortable. So I just didn't say anything. I looked away, or somehow avoided the situation.

That cold, snowy day in December, 2 days after Ellie was born, when we first received the news that she might have Down Syndrome changed everything. All of the sudden I realized, in a very gut-wrenching way, that people with disabilities are. just. like. you. and. me. This beautiful, joyful, smiling baby wasn't someone that should be shunned. I don't know why it took being a parent to a child with disabilities to finally get it through my thick skull. It's not that I shunned people with disabilities before. I had worked at a local printing company that had a Goodwill Worksite and I would visit with the Goodwill employees in the cafeteria. I still remember Richard. He had a great work ethic and a great sense of humor. But outside of work, I didn't interact with people with disabilites.

I have sometimes wondered if Ellie's DS is some sort of sick pay-back for my overly frequent use of the R-word as a teenager. But then I remind myself that I don't think God is vindictive or mean or spiteful. Down Syndrome is just one of those crazy quirks of genetics - if you stop to think of the odds of having a child withOUT disabilities you get pretty bowled over.

But what happens when these cute kids who stay child-like so much longer than the rest of us, grow up? Are they accepted in society? Is there a place for them in our circle of friends? Is there a place for them in our church group? Is there a place for them on our softball league? How do they make connections and friends in the community at large? I wonder about Ellie's future as an adult. Will she make lasting friendships and connections with others or will she be alone? Being an eternal optimist, I try not to worry about this. I hope that the future will be bright for her and all of our kids.

So I found this website from British Columbia, Canada through a friend in the DS community. It's worth a look: Start With Hi.

Keep your eyes open: you will see some really neat things

I just never know when to expect a new skill or ability. They sometimes appear on queue while I have a planned activity. That happened with a lot of signs after we began watching Signing Time. But gross motor skills have arrived on the spot after much gnashing of teeth and screaming and fussing. In fact we have suffered through weeks and months of painful and difficult physical therapy sessions before some gross motor skills arrived. Things like crawling, walking and climbing stairs required really painful, long, drawn-out therapy sessions and lots of practice before they emerged. In fact, they even required changing therapists and approaches to therapy.

But then, there are some things that just surprise you at unexpected moments. Tonight was one of those times. We had a swim meet at our old swimming hole: the YMCA's waterpark. We were members of the team last summer and have lots of friends there. It is a 30 minute drive from our home and less than 10 minutes into that drive we pass a county pool with a swim team. We chose to try that team out this year as that shorter drive helps me with potty training Ellie. However, we miss our friends. That made tonight's meet a real treat and we sat with our old team instead of our new team. The kids had a blast. Alex got to hang with his buddies who also swim year round with him, and Ellie got to sit with some old friends who brought a bucket of Lego. Well she kept handing me little pieces of Lego connected together. I didn't realize at first, but she was putting them together herself. I caught on to this idea after a few minutes, and then she finally tapped me on the arm so that she could show me how she does it. Watching her master this fine motor skill made my heart leap with joy! She has over-pronated her hand for all grasping and drawing and eating activities since day 1. (Imagine holding a spoon with your thumb under the handle) However, watching her hold those Lego correctly I realized she CAN hold a pencil correctly and manipulate it for a proper writing grasp. I have been doing more work with her this summer and I think it is finally paying off. Yea!!!!!

Lego Rocks! And for those of you who didn't know this: looking for little Lego pieces in a pile of Lego builds your brain's synaptic connections (still searching for the link). So keep your eyes open for two reasons: you might miss something really amazing and you can get smarter looking for Lego. :D