Nothing is more edifying and at the same time more sobering than attending a Challenger Baseball Jamboree. Of course there are moments of joy as well. As a parent I am incredibly grateful for our daughter's experience; an event where teams have congregated from all over the Lower Mainland, Vancouver Island and elsewhere in the province. So many kids, young adults and their parents, coaches and volunteers braved traffic, ferries and other logistical challenges to represent their team, their region and their sport. The energy and enthusiasm of all the teams was wonderful and although the weather was completely different than what was forecast, the day went smoothly.
Any day that includes bagpipers, the singing of O Canada and Bob Brown Bear, the Vancouver Canadians baseball mascot is a great day in my book and one liable to move me to tears. While I watched our almost twenty-four year old sing the national anthem with her hand over her heart I considered the bumpy road that led us here. The diagnosis of an intellectual disability in tandem with epilepsy has been a struggle. And it could have been so much more difficult. My only complaint is that we did not know about programs like Challenger Baseball and Special Olympics before she was a teenager. It would have been amazing to build her confidence and expand her social circle when she was a little girl. Now we are so thankful that these programs exist at all and that our daughter can participate in them. As I look around and witness friends pushing others in wheelchairs, parent coaches encouraging players from the pitching mound and high fives that are generously given, COVID or not, I am reminded once again that life is good. The smile on our daughter's face says it all.
