The girls are playing their little suntanned fannies off. They played two games on Tuesday -- lost the first one and won the second. Wednesday they played one and won it. Those were pool games and didn't amount to a hill of beans in the tournament. Not even for a seed. Yesterday we played 2 games and won both of them. Those were tournament games so, we needed them to win. It's double elimination, and so far we're going strong in the Winner's Bracket. We play again today, so keep your fingers crossed.
This is what I mean about loving reflective surfaces. This is Kara. Kara is one of our pitchers. Kara's dad, Shon, is one of our coaches. If you look real close in Kara's sunglasses, you can see her dad coaching in a player sliding into third. I have lots of pictures from Day 5 but have just been too busy to get to them....
I've also learned what it means to be "waterlogged". We've been pretty lucky in our playing times -- which I won't complain about. So far we've been done playing and at the beach by 1. Not bad when you're playing in the southern heat and humidity! So anyway, we get done playing, stop by the condo to change into our suits and spend the next 5 hours at the beach. Then, as if that's not enough sun and water, we head to the pool for another hour or so. So, yeah, no wonder why I have sun poisoning, huh!?
I sat at the pool on Wednesday and watched a mom with a special needs daughter. She was in a wheel chair when I first saw them and when I caught up with them again, she was pool side with her mom. Her mom had her securely tucked between her legs while she was blowing up a floatation device. She had this system down to a science. She'd do everything she needed to do -- even get in the water-- and never let go of her daughter. She made every attempt to make sure her daughter had just as much fun as anyone else in the pool. And it was obvious by the smile on her face that she was having a blast.
About the time they were packing up to leave, a big sister walked in with her Down Syndrome brother. They walked over and joined a group of The Sister's friends who were poolside. They all welcomed The Brother in with hugs and high-fives. After a few minutes they all got in the shallow end of the pool and started to play a game of handball -- including The Brother. Even from across the pool where I sat at the deep end while Harley splashed beneath me, it was easy to tell that they were going out of their way to make sure he was included and part of the fun. They bent the rules for him and continued to let him bat well after he struck out.
As I sat there and watched him interact with his sister and her friends, I felt so proud of that sister. I wanted to run up to her and give her a big hug and tell her how amazing I thought she was...even if I didn't know her name. It made my heart swell.
Watching them, all of them -- the mom with her daughter and The Sister and Brother -- made me feel so lucky to have what I have. I am able to go on vacation with my two daughters -- my healthy and happy girls, loved by so many amazing people, unique as two girls can be. I'm no different than these other people that I had watched nearly all afternoon.
It made me feel so blessed and thankful for what I have, that the kids are all healthy and happy, they we have amazing people in our lives. It took me back to the day in Taylor's doctor's office when I learned that hard lesson.
I believe that God put those people in front of me as a reminder. Like a little Post-It note with a little message reminding me to be thankful. And I am.
Because I am so incredibly blessed for my life and those in it.
And I'm ready to go home to see the rest of my "life".
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