Any Direction You Choose

Congratulations!
Today is your day.
You’re off to Great Places!
You’re off and away!

You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself
any direction you choose.

Dr. Seus

I’m so happy that Ronnie has access to team wheelchair sports through Sportable. He is a very athletic person, and always seems so excited to play basketball, lacrosse, track and field, etc. He never had that opportunity before joining our family, and he certainly doesn’t get it at school. But even more than the athletic opportunity, I like that he is meeting people who use wheelchairs and don’t let that stand in the way of living life to its fullest.

Last week at lacrosse, the coach was talking about one of the players to Ronnie. The player is a man in his late 20’s, and it was obvious that sports are his passion. But the coach was also relating how this gentleman was late arriving because he was repairing his roof. Ronnie looked a little surprised at that, and the coach just said, “well, he’s a family man and he has to take care of his family.” I saw a light bulb go off in Ronnie’s brain.

Ronnie has met people who drive and unload their own chairs, people who have children and who care for those children, people who travel to exotic places, people who have many different types of jobs, and people who can be every bit as competitive on the playing field as a person without a chair.

Ronnie is on that threshold on which all people with disabilities stand, even if only for a moment. Ronnie can choose to have others help him the rest of his life, or he can decide to take care of himself and do whatever it takes to reach that goal. He is more than capable, but I think he often needs convincing. Somewhere along the way in his tumultuous life, he learned to be a taker and not a giver. I believe it is my parenting job to change that, and the folks at Sportable are helping me more than they realize!