Yesterday I had the honor of being on a team of three photographers shooting the Arizona Special Olympics Triathlon in Scottsdale. Wow!! It was a good time, HOT, but good.
I'm in the process of trying to edit my 800+ photos. I have some of them and I will post a few when I get a chance.
I wanted to share with you a special moment that will stay with me for a very long time.
It was hot, but not as hot as it would have been earlier in the summer or later that same day. At the end of the day, after the awards ceremony there was but a remnant of people left behind.
I had taken refuge under the shade of a tree and was putting my socks and shoes back on after being able to soak them in the pool during the closing awards ceremony.
A little boy and his parents came and stood beside me. The little guy was probably 8 or 9 and a special needs child. His father tried to hand him his shirt to put on and that was all it took to unleash the dam of tears.
He had not received an award!
He was heart broken and began to sob as his mother held him. All he could say was, "I wanted a prize. I wanted a prize." His mother's comfort was doing nothing to alleviate his pain.
I love God moments. Lately they seem to be few and far between for me.
I had a prize for the boy.
I turned to him and told him, "I have a prize for you that no one else here today received. Do you want it?"
His eyes got a bit wide as he withdrew his head from his momma's chest and slowly walked the 4-feet over to me.
I reached out my arms and I embraced him. I told him that I had not hugged anyone that day and that he was the only one there who would get this prize. No one else; just him.
It was not a quick hug. I held him tight for about 30-seconds. No more tears. No more breathing heavily; just quiet. I looked down at his face as he melted into me.
When I let him go, he thanked me, turned and walked up the stairs to leave. His mom looked at me, gave me a big smile and turned around, placed her arm around her son and walked up the stairs with him. He received a prize. Acknowledgment for just being himself. A treasure!!
3 comments:
Sweet story. Sweet memory.
Thank you for that story. I am a friend of Dawn's and I have a child with mosaic down syndrome. I have followed your blog when exploring Dawn's blog. The story made me cry not sure why but it did. Thanks for acknowledging him for who he was! Ginger
by the way your photos are lovely
Beautiful. And that brought a tear to my eye too.
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