December 19, 2012

Deja Vu


In April 2010 Alex went to training camp at the Olympic Facility in Colorado Springs, CO. This was in preparation for the USA National Summer Games that were held in Lincoln, NE the summer of 2010.

On Friday Alex returned from training camp at Lake Placid, NY in preparation for the World Winter Special Olympic Games  which will be held in South Korea in January 2013.

Alex was #28 at training camp and brought home her bib as a "gift" 

We have not learned much about Alex’s trip to Lake Placid. I know she will share in her own time, and so for now I only have the following tidbits:
  •        The cute ski patrolmen brought her down the mountain one day because it was so cold she was shivering
  •         Alex skied hard for two days
  •        There were lots of desserts and even though they were “not healthy” Alex “had” to eat them
  •        Alex lost her cell phone but one of her friends told her that was okay – cell phones costs too much and should be cancelled anyway
  •        Alex’s coach was great and she is the only girl in their group of five
  •        It was really really fun

One of the benefits of keeping this ongoing journal for 3 ½ years is the ability to regurgitate at will. Alex continues to grow, learn and mature every year, sometimes quickly and sometimes not so quickly, but it is a constant in her life. These posts change on a daily basis, but the basic Alexisms, the ones that define her and make her so special do not. 

I wrote the following post entitled “Recovery” after Alex’s return from Colorado Springs, I could have written it on Saturday after Alex’s return from Lake Placid.

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Once again my sweet daughter had an interesting reaction to a pivotal event in her life; she got sick.

We have always noticed, and I previously recounted, Alex’s deep mind/body connection. Alex feels events in her life at a different level than me or the rest of my family. When we had death in our family she was inconsolable; with happy events she goes into over drive followed by heavy fatigue. We experienced the latter this past week. 

For the rest of us, we allow the commotion of our environment to dilute our senses. I have not yet figured out if this is good or bad; leaning towards bad. Alex does not seem to have that distraction ability; she focuses on the single event in her life, processes it and moves on. In this case it was the Special Olympics Training weekend.

Prior to departing for the first Team Colorado meeting Alex had bad behaviors at school; we worked through this and attended the weekend training event. Alex’s nervousness was alleviated, and she worked hard with her team. However, on our return, this week has had a different outcome. 

Alex was fine at school on Monday, but by Tuesday her teacher called to say Alex looked flushed, felt warm and was tired. She stayed at school, but was unable to go to her afternoon classes, or soccer practice. Wednesday and Thursday were more of the same. Today, Friday, Alex seems better, but a new focus has entered her path; she has to go to soccer practice today if she wants to play in the game tomorrow. I love the power of sports for Alex!

I believe Alex’s weekend with her team was so adrenaline filled she collapsed when she had time to come down from her high. Her mind’s exhaustion created a tired body that needed rest. She went to bed early every night, listened to music and fell asleep.

The Disney channel got a rest in our house; as did the colored paper, markers and tape. Alex was too tired to watch TV, work on craft projects or even overeat. In a weird sense, this was a good week; it was peaceful yet full.

So, again I wonder, am I missing one of the greatest lessons in my life by dismissing Alex’s reaction to her world? Should I stop and listen to my body also? Is it so important for me to accomplish twenty tasks in one day, or should I just focus on the task at hand? I think I know the answer; we should all stop and smell the roses.

I still feel the same.

6 comments:

  1. I think I would be drained after a weekend like she had! Beth however is so even tempered that she rarely gets overly excited or incredibly sad. I'm glad Alex was able to make it to practice and play in the game!

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    1. Thanks Cindy - I am glad Beth is even keeled - our kids are so like us aren't they?

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    1. It will be interesting to see if this is true in your family too!

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  3. That's some great insight. Perhaps her ability to focus on event at a time is one of the blessings of having down syndrome?

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    1. I think it is...Alex focuses on one thing at a time and will not start another task until the previous one is finished. She is very particular about that - and although we get frustrated - it works for her and I appreciate it.

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