A Life Worth Loving

Early this morning, I grabbed a cup of coffee, sat down at my desk, and came to the realization that I’ve now been blogging for almost 18 months. Back in December 2007 when I first started, I wrote about my daughter Shana in a post entitled “Not a Creature was Stirring“. The story recounted how prior to her birth, our recurring prayer was that she would be a person who could both give and receive love in tangible ways. In that regard, we have never been disappointed. This past Friday, I was brought to tears by yet another example of Shana negotiating a “love exchange” – this time mostly with strangers.

The Special Olympics of Northern California and the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) have joined forces to bring special olympics directly into the schools, through the School Partnership Program. On Friday, May 15th, the program’s annual track and field meet for special needs kids within SFUSD was held at Kezar Stadium. By the way, this isn’t the Kezar Stadium featured in the original “Dirty Harry” movie, which was also the home of the San Francisco 49ers for many years. That decrepit old place was demolished many years ago and rebuilt in a more functional configuration that now hosts football, soccer, lacrosse, and track and field events.

This year, Shana and a friend from her class were selected to be the “torchbearers” for the opening parade.

As a parent, I found the the dedication, care, and love expressed by the volunteers, paraprofessionals, and special education teachers who conducted the event to be overwhelming. All parents want to see their children loved and accepted by others, but it’s especially true for those of us with special needs kids. Events like Special Olympics are a way of “offsetting” the stares, whispers, and social awkwardness that often accompany people’s interactions with children like Shana. For at least one day, our kids are celebrated and made to feel special by others.

A perfect example of this was something Shana received last week. Our daughters attend different schools and Shana qualifies for transportation services (school bus). This year, we were able to arrange for the morning bus to pick her up at her sister’s (Rachel) school instead of at home. At Rachel’s school, there’s a paraprofessional who supervises the inflow and outflow of special needs kids to and from buses. Every morning and afternoon, he’s out there “working the sidewalk”. Over time, he’s gotten to know Shana – even though she doesn’t attend his school. When he heard that she was going to be a torchbearer for the Special Olympics event, he made up a sign and presented it to her immediately after the opening ceremonies.

Just to prove that I’m not immune to being an “over the top” parent gushing about his kids, here’s two final photos of Shana participating in the “Shot Put” – actually a softball toss!

Shana’s ability to freely give and receive love – unconditionally, remind me again and again how few “essentials” there really are to life. She’s not a burden – she’s a blessing!