Let The Games Begin...

Carissa and I made an executive decision this morning. We are quitting our day jobs at GFM and going to volunteer for the Special Olympics. However, when we started exploring what that really looked like, we decided that neither one of us was any good at a particular sport (with the exception of speed walking and ‘power’ lifting up to 35 pounds) so we might have to actually take up a sport in order to be able to volunteer anywhere near an athletic facility. I may have to stick with my day job for a bit longer...

We actually ended up getting about six hours of sleep last night. It was much needed. After watching the Today Show piece Debbie pitched about the Bass family from North Carolina, we spent the day touring the different venues and watching athletes compete in power lifting, swimming, gymnastics and track and field. There isn’t anything quite like a competition where a young athlete, 18, is getting ready to lift and stops to turn around and yell from the stage, “I love you dad”… it sort of blows you away. Many of the swimmers finished their competition and instead of seeing how they did, would just turn around and ‘high five’ the other competitors.


We are off to the Olympic Village to meet some more athletes and then it is back to Des Moines in uur faithful white chariot so Debbie, Carissa and I can catch our flight. I am a bit jealous that John and Wendy get to stay for the week and see the Closing Ceremonies. They will definitely need a long vacation when this is all said and done. My appreciation for the work they have put into this event continues to grow as I begin to get a better understanding of the nuances and logistics that went into planning and executing an event of this magnitude.

Off to trade some more pins - Laura