Day 3 State Special Olympics

We had to be there earlier Sat. and got a closer parking lot spot.  I was hoping we could just swiftly go up the bridge and into the field without Callie getting too freaked out about the buses.  No such luck.  She tried riding Austin's, our helper for the day, back but was having trouble staying on.  As we neared the bus she kept saying - not by the bus - on the bus - like the field trip.  She jumped on the bus and all was well.  Apparently to her being in the monster is better than walking by it.  Definitely an analogy of some sort, but I was much to tired to connect the dots.

Callie had her long jump and as she has done at every practice she jumped once then again and again in the pit to the end.  She had an audience by the second jump who found her "style" adorable.  Then, for some reason, she only jumped once the last time.  She took a silver, which was awesome.

Christian had his 200 meter run first and really ran the whole way taking a gold medal.  Then took a gold for the 50M.  Really surprised us all as he is usually pretty cavalier about his running.  He was really proud of himself as well he should have been.

Our first state meet was exhausting and stressful, but I'm glad we did it and we will do it again.

Day 2 - Minnesota Special Olympics Meet

Today Callie had her 100M run.  The walk from the parking lot to the field was very stressful for Callie.  There are school buses for shuttling people and city buses as well as general traffic noise.  All of which is completely overwhelming for Callie.  She is terrified of the buses - she fears their loud breaks, their unexpected starting and stopping.  It took everything we had to get her safely up and over the bridge.  She finally made it, but was clearly stressed out by the experience.

 Thankfully she remembered the Boogie Tent - the place where dancing happens.  She did the macarana, the hokey pokey and Surfin' USA - with every song and dance she relaxed.  It was also mascot day - there was the Saints baseball team mascot, the Wild's mascot, McGruff, some others I didn't recognize and her favorite - Buck the Swarm mascot.  The Swarm is our pro lacrosse team - her big brother, a big fan and player of lacrosse,  would have been proud.  In true Callie style she put the mascots together in matchmaker style and brought people in to dance along.

She was ready to go when it was time for her big race.  I watched several other races as I waited for her to line up for her race.  Finally it's their turn and Callie and our friend Julie follow the group into the arena, then across the field and I was perplexed - why are they crossing the field when the finish line is clearly right in front of me - the cheerers are right in front of me.  All of a sudden I realize that she is going to run her race on the other side of the track.  She is going to run the race that we had worked so hard on.  We worked on conquering her fear of the starter gun or even the whistle - we talked and talked about staying strong - not crying or falling down or clawing the track due to her anxiety.  I panicked that I was going to miss this race that we had all worked so hard on.  I jumped up, grabbed my camera and while repeating - you've got to be kidding me - all the way around the track I ran trying to get there in time.  I wanted that first race on video so we could celebrate it over and over.  I realized there was no way I would make it in time.  I could tell she was running well, but not what place she took.

Immediately afterwards she went to the awards ceremony.  We anxiously waited to see what place she came in.  Hallelujah she was 2nd - she appeared to be the youngest by far, but she came in second.  We were all so proud of her.  As Julie and I talked about it we realized that it was very likely she ran well because she was on the far side of the track - away from the cheerers and all the observers.  In retrospect it was a good thing for Callie and after all it is suppose to be about her and her ability to overcome - not my need as a mom to fulfill my desire to madly cheer for our girl who is an overcomer and continues to be an overcomer.  Oh, I was cheering - it was just a quieter more inside type of cheer.  Yeah Callie!

Yikes - catch up

OK so far behind. I'll never be able to get caught up with everything, but Callie did an excellent job with the flag waving and after we practiced quite a bit she got comfortable with the music and started taking bows at the end.

Tonight Mark, Ella, Jacob and I went to Chris' lacrosse game. It was the big Lakeville N. Vs. S. rival. This is the first year they each have their own team, so they really wanted to win it. Well, the day was quite warm, but when the sun went down it got very cold and was crazy windy. Anyway, they ended in a tie, had 2 overtimes with no score and then had to call it due to lightening. So now, they have to reschedule to finish it. Totally a nail biter. They kids were great even though they were freezing. Who knew Mark and I would enjoy a sporting event so much. Neither of us are much for sports, but it's so exciting to watch your kid play. Go Cougars!