Maybe It's Just Not His Sport - Rebuttable!

Cameron had a major five school wrestling tournament today. I decided not to go as it was over an hour away and an all day event - John was the lone cheering section for our family.

It's providence that the day I don't go...and three days after I say wrestling is not his sport...HE WINS THE ENTIRE TOURNAMENT FOR HIS WEIGHT CLASS!!!

But wait there's more...HE IS CHOSEN THE MVP FOR HIS SCHOOL!!!

But wait there's even more...HE RECEIVED HIS FIRST WRESTLING MEDAL!!!

I will NEVER not go to one of my son's games, tournaments or playoff games again! Practices? They're on their own...

Friday Night Lights...

We are not a basketball family. It's just not our sport. We don't play it or watch it - even though we have the required suburban hoop in our driveway.

Yes - we have put Caeden into a basketball league for the winter, but that's just to keep him active. He's in it to goof around with his friends.

Last night was elementary school night for our high school basketball team. The mania of football Friday's gives way to the winter version - only warmer and dryer.

There are four elementary school's in our town. When we arrived we were told to sit with our school in the lower half of one section. The other three schools took up three more section halfs. Four schools took up one eighth of the seating for the gym.

As we squeezed into the only seats left for our section, we looked across at the completely empty stands across the gym. No - we couldn't go there because we had to be with our school for school spirit night!

Thank God high school games don't have time-outs like NBA games...you know - 5 minutes on the clock takes half an hour?! By the end I was standing at the rail - desperate to stretch my back, and even more desperate to have the little girl behind me stop hitting me in the head with her spirit towel!

John didn't even bother trying to come back to our seats after his restroom break. He stood at the door of the gym and smiled knowingly as I remained trapped in my seat.

The game? We lost by two points. The spirit? Our school won - course, you can't help but be loud when you pack 200 people into seats that hold 50...

The Spelling Bee...

What is it about kids on the autism spectrum that makes them such good spellers?! Three years ago I told everyone that Jackson would be in the middle school spelling bee in 5th grade. Today was the day...

In order to become one of the 57 finalists, EVERY child in the school (5th thru 8th grades) had to complete the same written test. Then there was a verbal, in-class elimination. Jackson was one of only eight fifth grade finalists.

I was really excited for him, not only because he was a finalist, but because he was very nervous. He responded like a typical kid in being nervous, not a child on the spectrum! For this, I was excited!

Just before it began, he ran down to me for one final pep talk. Frankly, from years of experience with his sensory issues, the one thing I could really do for him was gently stroke his arm. As I did, he looked hard into my eyes for reassurance. I truly felt this was the only place I wanted to be, with him, at that moment!

He was in the third row. I soon realized the significance of the third row. The words got progressively harder as they went, meaning his placement in the third row was determined by how well he did in the written test. Additionally significant, he was sitting between two eighth grade boys - his older brother's cool friends.
I didn't take any pics of the actual competition - that may have thrown off his concentration...

His word - CAMPAIGN. He was supposed to start by repeating the word, spelling the word and repeating again. He spelled it just fine and walked away. He had to be called back to repeat the word to signify he was finished. First round done...

Second round - SINCERELY. He took his time...S-I-N-C-E-R-L-Y. He missed the second "e". Good God - I would miss the second "e"!

When he was eliminated there were only two fifth graders left in the competition!

As a side note - there were very obviously two other boys, more significantly on the spectrum than Jackson, that were still in the running when he left. My heart was with both of them.

I cannot...CANNOT EVER relay how immensely honored I was to be Jackson's mother this morning. Jackson reminded me I'm more than SportsMum - I'm also his very proud SpellingBeeMum!

And So It Begins...Again!

Our brief reprieve from sports is over...Here is the schedule for this Saturday...

6:30 a.m. - Cameron catches the bus for an ALL DAY wrestling tournament about an hour and a half from here

8:00 a.m. - John leaves to go to Cameron's tournament

8:30 - 10:00 a.m - Jackson has wrestling practice

9:00 a.m. - Caeden has basketball practice

10:00 a.m. - Jackson has baseball conditioning

11:00 a.m. - Jackson, Caeden and I leave for Cameron's tournament

Sometime Saturday Night - We crawl in the door and crash!

And Sunday? It begins again with Jackson's regular Sunday wrestling matches.
So much for a day of rest...This IS the sporting life...