I took these pictures to share with Orion's I Run 4 buddy, Greg, how it was for him opening his mail package. What a treat! Not only Greg sent Orion a belt buckle cover from his latest 50 mile run, he included fine handmade cards from the students in his classroom up yonder in the Chicago area.
Have you ever heard of the "I Run 4" program? The idea is for runners to run for children who cannot run for whatever reason. Thanks to my friend C, whose son C, has a running buddy across The Pond, threw in my direction the idea of signing Orion up for this. Runners can sign up to be matched with their buddy and vice versa. I signed up Orion and we got Greg! He's an awesome (and humble) running machine often cranking out double digit miles during his runs. Don't let him tell you that he's slow, no, no. The fact he is consistent and determined is an inspiration for us with Orion. (He is still fast, anyway.) Motivating us to be consistent with routines and communication with Orion.
Orion does the same for Greg, inspiration and motivation to keep on runnin'.
A while back, Greg ran a 50 mile race, finishing it under 9 hours. He was given an extra race belt buckle cover after sharing about his little buddy Orion.
With the package we just got from Greg, we feel that not only we gained an awesome running buddy in Greg, we also gained a classroom of little buddies cheering for our little wizard.
I Run 4 communities can also be found via Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. You can sign up to run for a little buddy. If your kid has special needs, sign him/her up for a running buddy- inspiration truly is a 2-way street here!
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| Orion's first pick out of the package from Running Buddy Greg. |
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| Orion checked out the packaging for the belt buckle. It was a favorite to touch, because of the triangle cut-out on the other side. |
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| Bite test: I want to do this like a Deaflympic medalist! |
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| Check out the bling! |
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| Orion's big sibs, Anastasia and Skyler, read the cards from the students in Greg's classroom. Anastasia deducted from the lovely illustration on this card that this student loved horses. |
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| Orion, big sibs, and his fan mail! A big Thank You to Mr. A and his class from us in Texas! |
And now for a Public Service Announcement for all you kids out there, especially Mr. A's class:
Reading Rocks!
Orion got a new braille picture book from Dolly Parton's Imagination Library. American Printing House for the Blind works with this program to send out braille books periodically for blind children to enjoy from birth to 5 years of age. Orion is 4. He isn't reading braille yet but we're learning some anyway so we may one day enjoy reading with Orion. Orion enjoys the feel of the braille bumps on the pages. He knows the physical characteristics of books, definitely, but not the stories within the covers just yet.
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| Reading the latest Dolly Parton Imagination Library book arrival which happens to already be a favorite: "The Mine-O-Saur" by Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen. |
