Special Joy

I can't articulate how blessed I feel to have been given the opportunity to help present awards at the Brooklyn Special Olympics on Saturday. It was incredible to be surrounded by people who are not caught up in the things of the world and to simply enjoy their spirits. It was an amazing experience and I'm glad that Ash and Libby invited me to join them.

Lining up for the first race . . . I believe there were over 70 races scheduled for the day. My friends and I were asked to help by presenting the medals to the participants. The spirit of competition was fierce but all were overjoyed to receive a medal documenting their success. It was a humbling experience to witness their happiness. I hesitate to share many photos as I do not wish to invade anyone's privacy, but it was such an amazing experience that I had to share one photo.

At the end of each race, the participants were asked to be seated while waiting for all the teams to gather and the results of the race to be provided by the officials. After completing his race a young man was very sad because he was asked to wait for everyone else and he did not understand why he wasn't immediately given his medal. Another member of his team (who had earned a medal for participating in an earlier race) was sitting beside him, and upon witnessing his teammates abject disappointment, removed the medal from around his own neck and placed it over his friends head. When the caretaker tried to intervene, the giver simply told her his teammate needed it.

Thanks to Libby for researching the event and inviting us to join her.

And Ash for getting us there!
It was an extraordinary day for me.