Last Minute

Beth and I were sitting at the kitchen table this morning waiting for her bus. Every Wednesday she goes to karaoke at All Aboard. Her bus was coming between 10:30 - 11:00 so she got up to use the bathroom one last time. At 10:28 I got a text saying All Aboard was closing for the day due to too many exposures to covid. They had already canceled all the DART buses and were sorry for the inconvenience. She was so disappointed. I asked her if she wanted to go down to the waterfront she said yes! I was shocked because she usually always says no.

When we got out of the car back by the street and behind some condos, the temps were very mild so we left our hats, gloves and scarves in the car. Mistake! By the time we got out onto the pier the wind was SO cold! So we found a bench inside a wind-breaker. 

We took pictures, watched the ferry come and go, admired the boats in the marina, and tried our best at some selfies.

 That's Mt. Baker. About 120 miles from us.

We left there and went to the grocery store to pick up some meds and saw some granola that made us smile! Purely Elizabeth!

What could have been a really sad day turned out pretty well!

The Variety Show

It went so well! Beth was very nervous, even sitting in the car she pulled out an ornament that had a sticker with the verse from Philippians 4:13, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."

I had printed up some song sheets for two reasons actually. First so people could follow along but also so they could see how her 'costume' sort of matched Colm Wilkinson's when he played Jean Valjean on Broadway. 

She walked onto the stage with her fists clenched and everyone began shouting out her name and encouraging her. By the time she walked across the floor and got to the microphone, everyone was clapping and cheering for her.

 (I didn't get any photographs during the song so I took a screen shot of the video.)

Right before she started singing she looked over at our table and took a deep breath, she was so brave! This week she held onto the microphone and sang loud enough at times that you could hear her over the music! Such a big difference from last week!

There were songs and skits and magicians, lots of laughter and fun! Then at the end, everyone came on stage and danced to We Got The Beat!

 

 

 

This is Cheryl, Beth's Bestie

 

Sharaya and Allie

 

Me and Beth

It was such a fun night!

A Little More Prepared

Tonight's the night! It's the second performance of the Way Off Broadway Vaudeville Show.

I really hadn't heard too much about it. A few months ago Beth brought home a paper saying they were going to have show and if you wanted to perform, let the leaders know what you wanted to do and they would have a auditions.

So Beth said she wanted to sing Bring Him Home from Les Miserables. I filled out all the appropriate boxes on the form and she took it back the following week. After the auditions we found out she had made it and so she began practicing her song.

A few weeks later she brought home a flyer with all the information on it so we made some copies and she handed them out to people at church. 

It's a low-budget show, everyone in the show has special needs and those that choose to sing really can't sing and those who are doing skits can't really act.

But that's not the point. 

The reason they do it is because the kids absolutely love performing! They have smiles as wide as the grand canyon, everyone cheers and every act results in massive applause!! It's fun and happy and a great way to spend an evening!

As last weeks show begins, I'm realizing each act has props or small sets that they've painted or created and there's audience participation with waving American flags during a patriotic song...

And then Beth gets up to sing. She's just wearing the brown outfit she wore that day. No costume. No props. Nothing. 

Now it may be that the volunteers have asked her during the last few weeks if she wanted to make something or wear something and she said no. I'm fully aware that's probably what happened. But my heart sunk! Even in the world of special needs Beth is often the odd-man-out.

BUT!!

I asked her about getting a costume and she said yes. This week we've been to Target, The Party Store, Dollar Tree... trying to find something she could wear (even just a hat!) that would represent Jean Valjean when he sings this song. We finally found something at Goodwill, a blue shirt and red vest that will slightly resemble the costume worn in the Broadway production.

I printed up some song sheets that we'll put on each table and I asked her about waving a giant red flag as she enters but she said no to that. 😀

So this week we're a little more prepared than we were last week. I'm writing this at about 3:00 on Wednesday and the show starts in 3 hours. She's downstairs practicing right now! I'll let you know how it goes!

You've Heard of Five Golden Rings?

Beth first started with Special Olympics back in 1994. She was on a swim team and ended up getting bronze at the State games that year. She was only 9.

Since then she's been part of Special Olympics off and on over the years. She's done basketball, swimming, track...  

These are the medals she's won throughout the years. Three gold, four silver and four bronze.

That large medal was the very first one she got. She's holding it in the first picture and you can see it's as big as her hand. They were huge back then but have gotten smaller over the years as more and more athletes participate. But this year, the medal was bigger. Not as big as the first one, but a pretty good size.

Being a part of basketball, we knew she wouldn't be able to keep up with the fast pace of a regular game so she was on an adapted team. They dribbled the ball, shot baskets from various places on the court, it was more like testing their skills rather than playing an actual game.

 

She loved it! One of the tournaments was held in Leavenworth, it's a small Bavarian-type town up in the mountains near here. So we got a hotel and had such a great time seeing the area and watching all the athletes. I think they won gold that time. (At least I think so because her medal looks gold in the picture!) 😁

Beth's on the far right

We suggested track to her one year and she did the fast walk, the shot put and I think one other thing but I can't remember now.  She seemed to like it but didn't get a call the following year. Not that you have to be invited but she struggled a little with her weight, would get out of breath easily and just couldn't be very competitive. So we decided to not to push it.

Then came bowling. She absolutely loves to bowl! Please don't say anything to her but she's not very good at it. After more than 10 years of bowling every single week with All Aboard and on Saturdays during Special Olympics, she still only gets a 56 or a 72. Every once in a while she'll text us from the bowling alley, "I got 114 on my first game!" It's a huge deal when she breaks a hundred! But she likes being there with her friends and the sounds and just everything about being at the bowling alley.

This year she was asked to be on a doubles team. There really wasn't anything different as far as qualifying went. Her and E bowled their own games as usual every week, but at the tournament their scores were combined. That was the only difference.

  
When it was all over, they won silver! They give them their medals right there on the lanes and everyone cheers and claps! It can be kind of emotional!

So now make that 5 silver medals! 

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun!

All Aboard hosted a party - for girls only - and when Beth got home she told me, "I did have fun with my friends."

 

About 15 minutes before it ended I texted her, "Take some pictures!"

They played board games and made some art projects, it was fun for her to just hang out with girls for a change. I love All Aboard and the opportunities they provide for our grown up kids with special needs.