The past 3 days have been amazing!
Anna competed in the Special Olympics for the first time. The state summer games took place here in Mt. Pleasant, on the campus of Central Michigan University. Over 2500 athletes from all over the state competed. It was an exhausting weekend, but in a very good way!
Thursday night was Opening Ceremonies.
First participants of the Torch Run brought in the flag. The Torch Run is a 9 hour relay run, carrying the torch, that spans from the steps of the Capitol Building in Lansing all the way to the stadium, and the runners are all in law enforcement.
The state is split up into areas, usually consisting of 2 or more counties, and each delegation walked into the football stadium together. Our area is Area 7.
Anna is the one in the rain poncho, with her arms up. She was nervous about walking into the stadium, but as you can see, she was pumped!
Our friends’ son Earl is the one off to the left in the U of M jacket. Anna, on the other hand, is in the middle of everything, all about meeting the CMU football players!
She had somehow sweet talked a therapy dog handler into letting her hold the leash. Here she’s waving to the crowd in the stands.
On the big screen at Kelly Shorts Stadium!!
Here are all of the athletes on the field.
The competition started on Friday. The weather was perfect – sunny and 60’s. Anna’s first event was the 100 meter dash, in the afternoon.
Before the event, she relaxed a little bit.
Then some stretching with Chase, one of the volunteer coaches.
My parents drove up from St. Johns to cheer her on. They are here, sitting with Lance, in the bleachers.
Soon it was time for the race! She was nervous and excited. I was a wreck! LOL I was hoping she would do well, and win a medal, or if she didn’t win, she’d be able to emotionally accept a loss. From the bang of the starter gun it took less than 30 seconds, but it seemed like an eternity!
The look on her face says it all!
VICTORY!
By the time she hit the finish line, I was in tears. I don’t think I have ever felt so proud of her as I did at that moment.
She got a silver medal!!
She was so excited, and proud!
That night, although the competition goes on through Saturday, we attended the Closing Ceremonies and Victory Dance. It was held in Kelly Shorts Stadium. Several members of CMU’s football team were there to help out and meet the atheletes.
Sean Murnane, defensive line (he remembered Anna from a visit to her elementary school, so she has since dubbed him her boyfriend)
John Williams, defensive line
Antonio Brown, wide receiver
Here she’s with Michael. He was a volunteer coach who worked with the track team, and Anna adored him. She was thrilled because he danced the chicken dance with her.
Her favorite “celebrity” of the night, though was Brad. We have actually known Brad for several years, and she was very excited to see him!
The ROTC volunteered in many areas of the games, which was great. The helped stop traffic on Broomfield Road, between the athletic events and the dorms, which was so appreciated. This humvee was on display… check out Anna looking tough in front of it as she poses (though I had to explain to her that soldiers do not lay across things when they are posing in front of their vehicles).
We then went home and crashed… we were both exhausted, and knew Saturday would be another busy day. In fact, it took over half an hour just to get Anna up out of bed on Saturday morning! But we had to get moving, because her last event, the softball throw, was at 9:30.
Before the event, though, we were both interviewed by Kimberly Purdy, formerly of 9&10 News and now Public Relations Director for Michigan’s Special Olympics. We might be included in a video they are making about Special O’s!
And she got a BRONZE!
Her first Special Olympics, and she medaled in both events!
I feel like I can’t put into words just how amazing this weekend was. There were many times that I was in tears, and I hadn’t expected it to be as emotional as it was. I mean… I knew that I would cry when Anna competed. But then, when you see an athlete, who can barely walk let alone run 100 meters, giving his or her all to get to the finish line, smiling ear to ear, with volunteers and spectators screaming and cheering them on… how can you not be moved? For many of these athletes, this competition may be the only positive reinforcement they receive all year. Special Olympics gives these athletes a chance for dignity, a chance to show that they do have gifts that the world may not otherwise see. I am honored to have a Special Olympics athlete for a daughter, and I know she’ll continue to make me proud and amaze me with her accomplishments, both in Special O’s and beyond.
