Special People, Special Day

I was fortunate enough to spend most of the day Tuesday with some truly special people. Lincoln, NE is hosting the 2010 National Special Olympics. I got up extra early, drove to a parking lot and took a bus to my volunteer location. I get there with not a whole lot going on for the first hour. We set up and received our instructions for the days events. Then the athletes came. You never really see what you take for granted until you witness people who have overcome more then you could imagine.

The first group consisted of two young ladies one with both physical and developmental disabilities and the second young woman with only developmental disabilities. It was amazing to see their attitude in respect to themselves and the other competitor. The first young lady did well on all her lifts but was not boastful. The second  young lady went 0-6 in the event. I could not tell she was upset or angry, she was so excited to be there and competing, she was happy for her fellow competitor even though she was having a bad time of it. She truly defined what it meant to be a good competitor and sportsmanship.

As the day moved along the groups got larger and the lifters had their different types of disabilities but the sportsmanship level never changed. There was a T.V. set up in the staging area where the athletes could watch each other compete. Not once was a bad or negative word spoken about another competitor. They would cheer, yell support, congratulate each other when the came off stage and console each other when another athlete was sad about not making their lift.

If you ever get the chance to spend the day volunteering with some of these truly special individuals take it. It will give you a perspective everyday life will not and may even teach you something about yourself. I know it did for me.