Let The Games Begin

I am the proud mom of an Olympian!

I shared in an earlier post that Matthew was a participant in the Special Olympic Winter Games, how he was photographed with Wertz Warriors and a reigning beauty queen. He had placed fourth in the 75 meter snowshoe race and second in the 100 meter. That afternoon while we were huddled around our hot chocolate there was talk of him being a part of the summer games which was a thrill to us.

Here it is now, the middle of May, and I am tickled pink to say that Matthew is weeks away from the State games in Mt. Pleasant, MI, my home away from home. Area games were two weeks ago in a charmingly not-s0-sleepy-anymore town called Cheboygan. Every Saturday leading up to May 2nd was spent at the recreation center and the high school track getting him ready. The softball throw...100 meter run...200 meter run...the Pop! of the starting pistol and off he went, the words of his running mate ("Go, Matthew! Go!") ringing in his ears, cheering him on. He would go the distance, stop, catch his breath, knock back some water, and do it again. The wind up, the pitch...okay, it went over everyone's heads a few times but just the same he did it. He finished at the Area Games in third place in the softball throw and first place in the 100/200 meter runs!

I am smiling as I type this but at the same time I think back to the little boy who once needed my help putting his Taz shorts on one leg at a time and for whom shoelaces were a nightmare. I remember him at the dinner table eating with his hands in a style reminiscent of Tarzan and how he clung to my neck for dear life at bath time because the water frightened him. I think of this and how far he has come. Not without blood...not without sweat...and for sure not without tears...but here he is.

Does my boy have a way to go yet? Oh yeah, just as we all do. But for as long as my Lord allows me to blow air past my teeth, I will be here to cheer for him...to work with him...to support him...and most of all to love him. Maybe even to run with him...

*sigh*