Special Kids Day is a bi-annual event for 150 special needs children - those with physical and/or cognitive challenges - that my girls and I have participated in for the past 7 years. Its a fun-filled day where nobody sees the wheelchairs, the limps, the blindness, the tempers, or the emotional problems. It is an event designed specifically to make these kids feel special and, for that one day, they get to be the "normal" kids, equal in their ability to have fun and to be themselves.

Early that morning, before the kids arrived, Cheyenne, Dakota and Tahoe joined me at the morning briefing where the event organizer reminded all the volunteers why we were there. "Although many of us receive the moral support of our families and friends, often those with disabilities and disadvantages receive little affection and need to know that there is love for them as well. For us, today is a nice fun day, then it's over and we go on about our lives; but for some of these kids, it is the most important day in their lives!"

Cheyenne, Dakota and Tahoe seem to know this and want to help put a smile on these kids' faces as they make their courageous journey through life. My girls have the uncanny ability to see that invisible sign hanging around each child's neck that says, "please make me feel important"...and in typical pit bull fashion they do it with everything they've got!

The first group of children that came by to see us was a group of deaf children. It was fascinating watching the children telling each other things about the dogs with their tiny little hands. One little girl sat down at the table and Cheyenne gave her a big kiss on the cheek. She leaned over and gave Cheyenne a big hug and, although the child could not speak, the huge smile on her face told us what she could not say.

A couple hours later, a little boy saw Dakota sitting alone in my truck. He walked over and said to me, "May I sit with her? Its no fun being alone."

Throughout the morning several groups of children came by and I watched my girls interact with each child as if that child was the most important one there. And, although my girls have been doing this for many years, I was moved as I watched these two groups of society's misfits - the disabled and the pit bulls - touch the hearts of everyone there.

Waiting for the children to arrive

 

 

This is why we do it.....

-

I Am The Child
Author Unknown

I am the child who cannot talk.
You often pity me, I see it in your eyes.
You wonder how much I am aware of - I see that as well.
I am aware of much - whether you are happy or sad or fearful,
patient or impatient, full of love and desire, or if you are just doing your duty by me.
I marvel at your frustration, knowing mine to be far greater,
for I cannot express myself or my needs as you do.

You cannot conceive my isolation, so complete it is at times.
I do not gift you with clever conversation, cute remarks to be laughed over and repeated.
I do not give you answers to your everyday questions, responses over my well-being, sharing my needs, or comments about the world about me.
I do not give you rewards as defined by the world's standards -
great strides in development that you can credit yourself.
I do not give you understanding as you know it.

What I give you is so much more valuable - I give you instead opportunities.
Opportunities to discover the depth of your character, not mine;
the depth of your love, your commitment, your patience, your abilities;
the opportunity to explore your spirit more deeply than you imagined possible.
I drive you further than you would ever go on your own,
working harder, seeking answers to your many questions with no answers.
I am the child who cannot talk.

I am the child who cannot walk.
The world seems to pass me by.
You see the longing in my eyes to get out of this chair,
to run and play like other children.
There is much you take for granted.
I want the toys on the shelf, I need to go to the bathroom, oh I've dropped my fork again.
I am dependant on you in these ways.
My gift to you is to make you more aware of your great fortune,
your healthy back and legs, your ability to do for yourself.
Sometimes people appear not to notice me; I always notice them.
I feel not so much envy as desire, desire to stand upright,
to put one foot in front of the other, to be independent.
I give you awareness.
I am the child who cannot walk.

I am the child who is mentally impaired.
I don't learn easily, if you judge me by the world's measuring stick,
what I do know is infinite joy in simple things.
I am not burdened as you are with the strifes and conflicts of a more complicated life.
My gift to you is to grant you the freedom to enjoy things as a child,
to teach you how much your arms around me mean, to give you love.
I give you the gift of simplicity.
I am the child who is mentally impaired.

I am the disabled child.
I am your teacher.
If you allow me, I will teach you what is really important in life.
I will give you and teach you unconditional love.
I gift you with my innocent trust, my dependency upon you.
I teach you about how precious this life is and about not taking things for granted.
I teach you about forgetting your own needs and desires and dreams.
I teach you giving.
Most of all I teach you hope and faith.
I am the disabled child.

 

Click HERE to watch our Special Kids Day Slideshow/Video

"It is true that Pit Bulls grab and hold on.
But what they most often grab and refuse to let go of is your heart."
Vickie Hearne