Thankfully, an opportunity to give came early in the day.
We met James for what's become our weekly Friday lunch dates at the downtown market. They have great food (the Wicked Witches food truck sandwiches are to die for), and we always bring home some of Miss Pat's delicious double chocolate chip cookies.
As we were eating our lunch two kids rolled by in their wheelchairs and asked if we wanted to shoot a basket from a wheelchair to help raise money for the Tampa Paralympics. Neat little fundraising event, it's called Holiday Hoops for Hope. For $5 you can see for yourself what it's like to shoot a basket from a wheelchair. Isabella was thrilled at the opportunity. Unfortunately, by the time we made it to the table to pay and line up to shoot a basket, they had a presentation of the money they raised or something like that. I'm not too sure what was going on but we couldn't wait the 20 minutes for it to wrap up because Paloma hadn't taken her morning nap and was nearing a meltdown. Instead we donated the money and headed home.
I wish Isabella would have gotten a chance to shoot, but at least we got to give. And, it was also a teachable moment.
After the kids stopped at our little table to hand us a flyer, I asked her, "We don't really think of it as a blessing that our legs work, huh?"
Silence. I could see the wheels turning. She shook her head.
In all honesty, it was a teachable moment for both of us. It's so easy to get caught up in our own worlds, full of our own problems, mostly oblivious to everything we already have. This isn't to dismiss real problems and issues, it's just that at the very least, we were able to appreciate one of the more overlooked blessings in our lives and appreciate the determination and vigor of kids that go full speed despite facing tangible challenges everyday of their life.
