Watching from a distance...

Riley’s first Special Olympics experience was 5 pin bowling back in September 2012. Since then he has tried his hand at basketball, bocce, club fit, golf, snowshoeing, swimming and track & field. Some he enjoyed right from the start; some he tolerated in the beginning and now enjoys; some he well…no longer participates in. 

It hasn’t always been this way. Oh no. When Riley was little, going to any type of group activity meant a high probability of a meltdown for him AND an extra trip to the liquor store for me.

This weekend for the first time in a long time, I took Riley to his Special ‘O’ swimming. As I watched I couldn’t help but remember the times when I never thought anything like this (me sitting in the stands watching) would have been possible.

I watched as Riley warmed up. I watched as he followed the instructions...well…as best he could.  :)  I watched as he swam back and forth, over and over again working on his front crawl.

Sure he prefers to look forward instead of to the side when breathing. Sure he prefers to use only one arm. Sure he prefers to dive under the water when he gets tired. Sure I prefer to think he has mastered a “medley stroke”.

Will Riley ever want to compete in a Special Olympics Winter/Summer Games?  Probably not. Racing/competing are foreign concepts in Riley World. He is not competitive by nature and is quite happy to run/snowshoe/swim beside someone as opposed to in front. He's very polite you know. ;)

But…as with all things in Riley World…I will never say never.