Fun day

Because camping with 45 families just isn't enough, today those near enough to visit for the day, and those staying in hotels and with family, all descended on us for the annual Special Kids fun day.

Organised fun; face painting, drumming, childrens stuff and other things for the adults.

Disorganised fun; picnics with new faces and old familiar friends, the inevitable sudden rain shower followedby the now traditional blazing sun.

Celebrations; a non-verbal child for the last four meets now talking. Another now able to sit in a wheelchair albeit only briefly. At
teen finally having mastered the art of riding a two wheeler bike.

And sadness; those children not with us, parents here without their special child, other children too poorly to attend. And others here, but visibly weaker than the year before.

Everywhere though, love, acceptance of differences, excitement, and pleasure. Children free to be themselves in an environment where the only stares are parents checking out the different models of wheelchair or various positional aids

And now it's late, and the rain is falling gently; enough to be an excuse for bed and blogging here, but not enough to stop those who want to gather round the fire pit from chatting, singing, laughing, drinking, while a crowd of teenagers sit on a hill twirling glo-stix, and smaller children either fight valiantly against the idea of sleep or else curl up with parents or back in tents, gathering energy for the day abead and sleeping through the noise of a community making the most of three dimensional time together.

Tia