TBall | Down Syndrome Fact Friday

The one thing we want to ensure for Cody’s life is that he lives as normal a life as possible and that includes sports!  We are a little limited by what sports he can participate in due to his Atlanto-axial instability so T-Ball was a perfect option for us. (His big brother thinks we should stick with band due to his brother’s (as he refers to it) “fragile neck”, but I think T-Ball is pretty safe for us.)
Even better is the fact that the Little League organization has what is called a Challenger league. It is specifically for children with disabilities. It is a great way for kids with any disability to be involved in T-Ball. There are children of varying ages and diagnosis.  It fills my hear to know that organized sports like this made it an effort to think about our little guys and wanted to include them. GO LITTLE LEAGUE!!!
Here is my little guy decked out in his Giants gear for the Opening Ceremonies.


I think someone likes his uniform!

Who’s number 1? Cody’s number 1!!!

At the opening ceremony, all the teams and their coaches were introduced. 
See my kid on the left? The one yawning? Ya, that’s him.

Little League Opening Ceremony is probably the last place I thought I would find myself crying.
The last team to get introduced was the Challenger team.
The VP of the league (who is also one of the team coaches) gave a full introduction to these kids. He prefaced with the intention for inclusion as well as the ability to provide these children with the normalcy of playing on a real baseball/T-ball team.
As the team was introduced, the entire audience started applauding and cheering for this team. We sat through the entire opening ceremony with primarily families and friends cheering for their own children’s team. Yet,  when the Challenger league was introduced, they were greeted with a crowd clapping, hooting and hollering for them. As I sat atop the bleachers, I beamed with pride (and thanked myself for remembering to bring sunglasses – really? who cries at opening ceremonies???).
ACCEPTANCE.
As we soon enter into the “real” world of school and “growing up”, my biggest fear for Cody is acceptance.
The sound of complete strangers cheering for the underdogs filled me up and gave me even more hope for acceptance. 
I know my little guy is going to grow up just fine when there are loving hearts like that in this world!
And though, I don’t care for the real SF Giants (GASP!), I am cheering for these little Giants. Especially #1!