Being Present Brings Excellent Experiences from One Mom’s Eyes

Bancroft mom, Kathy, share’s her observations from a bowling outing her son participated in which brought a big thankful smile to her face.

I sat in a bowling alley recently with my son and about 100 of his peers. They were all working on their skills – and having a great time – in the annual Special Olympics bowling preliminaries. Each Sunday, they are surrounded by moms, dads, and staff from Bancroft, for the most part. There are continual cheers for strikes and pats on the back. When my son got five strikes in a row recently, the whole bowling alley was behind him cheering him on. Imagine the feeling!

One thing that makes these experiences extra special for me is to be able to sit and watch the interaction between the men and women, as well as their staff or parents. I see “excellent experiences” happening continually – in the smallest way to something big.

I watched a young staff member recently who was engaged fully – for over two hours – with a small group of older women who were bowling and needed assistance. Throughout the time, he was fully engaged with the group – he looked each person in the eye as they spoke, he listened and reacted. He knew them, helped them, and cheered them on. And, he wasn’t alone…there was a young female staff with the same group who was very attentive…treating people with respect and compassion.

Excellent experiences happen when there is active engagement between people. Not just being there, but being present in the moment. Getting everything you can out of the moment to bring joy to others. And, I see that happening all the time – on the job, in grocery stores, restaurants, baseball games and bowling alleys.

Those experiences are a mother’s dream come true; having staff members like these be there for your child who happens to have significant disabilities – when you cannot be there. These are the moments that make me so proud to be associated with Bancroft.