That's a sentence I honestly never thought I'd say. I mean, to be realistic, the girl hates being hot, and tends to avoid physical activity. The whole "coordinating my body" thing is pretty difficult at times for her, and sports have never been her forté. A few weeks ago though, she brought home a form to sign up for the "A Sporting Chance" track meet, and said she wanted to try it out.
Today was the day, and she excitedly stepped onto the field at 9:30am to compete in her first event, the standing long jump.
And she took first place.
First Place!
The grin on her face made me cry.
She participated in two more events; the 50m run, and the softball throw. She received two more medals for those, one first place and one third.
Here's what surprised me. This is a special needs track meet. It was quite a mixture of different levels of special needs. They did a great job of organizing the kids according to age and ability level, but I still wondered if Ellie would really feel proud of herself. I worried she would discount her achievements.
Boy was I wrong.
After her meet she excitedly called her daddy to tell him the news. Her smile was huge, the pride she had for herself was contagious. She needed this. She needed to win. More than even I knew.
So to the wonderful people who made this happen; her teachers, the staff from Branson, the A Sporting Chance organization...I sincerely thank you. You made my girl feel like a winner, which is priceless. We will never forget this and Ellie can't wait to participate next year!
Shelley
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