Bowling Shoes and A Gold Medal

Last Friday I was in the carpool lane waiting for Drew and Cal. As soon as they got into the already full of kids suburban....with the twin boys, Elliot and Bryna....I could see some excitement on Drew's face and a little of an overwhelmed look on Cal's face. I could also see Cal's special ed. teacher walking over to the burban. Before Drew had even climbed over the seat and attempted a seatbelt, she enthusiastically and so excitedly said...."Mom, Cal won a medal!" I then noticed that he was, in fact, wearing a gold medal around his neck. As I was listening to her, looking at him in the rearview mirror and realizing that his overwhelmed look was really excitement; his teacher came to the door. She then explained that he had won that 1st place medal....Yessiree Bob, I said 1st place....at the special olympics bowling competition. She also told me that he had been wearing it all day, and that he was so so very proud of it. Then the next words she said were life changing and make me smile and cry all at once....she said that all of his classmates cheered so loudly for him, and that he was so proud to show them all. THANK YOU GOD! My sweet sweet boy....my sweet sweet boy....the one who use to hate any sort of attention being paid to him....the one who couldn't stand it when we tried to sing Happy Birthday to anyone much less to him....the one who would have NEVER EVER EVER in a million years worn anything around his neck....the one who refused bowling shoes the first few years he bowled for special olympics....my sweet sweet boy.....he was wearing a gold medal (Did I mention it was 1st place?) around his neck, he was proud and excited and literally beaming, and he loved that his friends cheered! The things that seem so simple, so minimal, the things that just a few short years ago....I thought would never happen....are happening. When my head stopped reeling from what his teacher and Drew had just told me almost simultaneously, I took a deep breath and turned around to look at my son's face. There he sat staring at me with the biggest smile and he said...."Mama, look what I got in bowling!" I smiled back at him, trying not to let him see my tears, and asked him if he had fun bowling....I already knew what his answer would be....and he replied with "YES" and then he said...."And I wear my bowling shoes!"