A Champion in our Midst

Katie had her MN State Special Olympics Swim Meet over the weekend. She was scheduled to compete in 4 events but due to an accident in the pool Saturday afternoon two of her events were scratched. But she did win a first place in her best event which is the 25m backstroke. So Katie is the official MN State Special Olympics Gold Medal champion in division 6 of the 25m backstroke! She was so happy and proud to get her medal. To celebrate we went out to Q. Cumbers restaurant in Edina for salad bar/ chicken/ taco /dessert buffet. Katie loves this place but since it's on the other side of the cities we don't get there very often.

Katie's good friend Angela also won a gold medal in the 25m backstroke in a different division. On the whole our team--The South Region Stars--made a very good showing with lots of medals. We love watching these swim meets. It is so neat to see these athletes compete and reach for the finish line. All ages and all ability levels of kids and young adults compete. It is a very exciting and inspiring thing to watch and participate in. And there are literally hundreds of volunteers helping with every aspect of the event--from coaching, to timing, to staging assistance in and out of the water, serving lunch, announcing the bingo games, awarding medals, running the karaoke machine, and supervising the arts and crafts activities. It's a wonder to behold. Anyway, if you ever need to be inspired or to feel grateful for the healthy children that you have, come watch a Special Olympics events. It will change your outlook on life.