Special Olympics Winter Sports Banquet

Last night was our county's Special Olympics Winter Sports Banquet. I'm sure it's not unlike other sports banquets, although I've never been to any others.

It was held at a local high school in the school cafeteria
and there was a pretty big crowd of families.

A BBQ dinner was catered in and Brielle loved it!

Some of the members of Brielle's bowling team!
After a slide show featuring pictures from all the winter sports activities,
each member of each sport team received an award.

Brielle was SUPER proud of her award
along with the gold medal she won at the State bowling games
a few weeks ago!

It was a nice evening all in all. However, I had quite the special experience talking with one of her bowling teammates and her family. Katelyn was open and friendly and told me lots of cute things about herself. When she told me she was 21 and was going to be graduating from a local high school this year, it naturally sparked a conversation with her mother who was sitting next to me. We talked about plans for the future including work, living arrangements and finding things to keep busy after school was no longer an option.

Katelyn is on the far left wearing the red-sleeved shirt.
Brielle, of course, is on the far right in the tan sweater.

I know those issues are just a few short years away from us for Brielle. We've certainly thought a lot about it, but we haven't planned anything too specific yet. Despite it being in the near future, five years is long time from now and with our track record of moving so often, who knows where we'll be living then.

I don't get many opportunities to talk with parents of special needs children who are just a few years ahead of us. Katelyn's mom, Ginger, was open and friendly, something I truly appreciated. It's good to see what others have planned or have in place, and it always gets me thinking.

Thanks for the chat and support, Ginger AND Katelyn!

And congratulations to Brielle for a great Special Olympics season!