It is February! By now you are either skinny, drinking 8 glasses of water every day, and driving around in a perfectly clean car or…you are among the other 92% who have already given up.
This month’s article is definitely going to be about Special Olympics but I am also going to throw in a little personal advice since, well, I am writing the article.
New Years Resolutions: In addition to losing weight or getting in shape, and drinking more water, you may have made a few other cool resolutions for 2019. Perhaps you said “this is the year that I am going to take up a hobby, or get involved in something new, or help my community in some way, or do something memorable, or maybe step outside of my comfort zone. If you had any resolutions that were close to any of these, I can help you stick to them. Special Olympics might be the perfect fit for you.
Let me give you some examples:
Helping Your Community
Special Olympic Maine athletes live in every community in Maine and there is a local Special Olympics program in every county in Maine. Within those communities and Counties, there are athletes who could use your help. If you would like to be more active in your community or help a great cause, check out www.somaine.org and find a program near you. Reach out to the Area Manager and let them know that you are interested in getting involved. You could also just call our office at 207-879-0489 to learn more. We have 75 sports events each year but we are also looking for fundraisers, coaches, officials, and Unified partners. We seriously have something for everyone!
A New Hobby
Unified Sports
might be just the thing for you. We have Unified Sports for all ages. Unified Sports bring together athletes who have intellectual disabilities and folks who do not have a disability, together on the same playing field, court, course, etc. You can actually compete as a partner to one of our athletes against other Unified Teams or pairs. You do not have to excel in the sport either, you just need to want to have fun while doing an awesome thing.
Do Something Memorable
I guarantee that you only need to attend a Special Olympic event once and you will be hooked. Our athletes are amazing. Every event is memorable!
Get In Shape/Stay in Shape
Become a Special Olympics Coach. We have an actual two day Coaches College every summer (August) where you can become certified in up to three sports. Then, you can begin working with the athletes in your community helping them get ready for competition, or training them in a new sport.
Step Outside Your Comfort Zone
This is where the fun starts. Just getting involved in something you are not familiar with can be scary. If you have never worked with children or adults with disabilities, you might have some apprehension because you don’t know what to expect, or you might be afraid that you do not have the skills necessary. Trust me…we have something for everyone and as far as not knowing what to expect, here is what you can look forward to: people who are funny, shy, quiet, loud, nervous, excited, inspiring, motivating, determined, friendly, outgoing, energetic, and ready to have a great time with you. There are other ways you can step outside of your comfort zone too…your physical comfort zone. Join us on Saturday March 16th for the Big Chill Plunge (if you are a student) https://www.somaine.org/2019-big-chill-plunge or the Ice Out Plunge (open to all) at Maranacook Lake in Winthrop. https://www.somaine.org/ice-out-plunge-2019 Participating in a plunge is memorable, exhilarating, exciting, fun, crazy, and gives you bragging rights for life! (and you are helping a great cause at the same time.
Personal Stuff
This is the personal advice section of this article. I am sharing it because the year is still new and because it was inspired by a Special Olympics event so it fits.
I have always made one to three New Year’s Resolutions. I start off great but then by February I am off the resolution wagon. I usually make another attempt for Lent and just pray that I make it to Easter. Year after year I felt disappointed, and discouraged. I started every year off setting myself up for failure. Three years ago, the last week of December, I was stalking folks on Facebook and read a friends post that really changed things for me. Her post was a reflection on her year and she was listing all of these really neat things that she had done, including bungee jumping. (I should add that my friend uses a wheelchair!) I loved the idea of being able to look back on the year and see a list of all that I had done. I started writing. Drove the kids to hockey and back. Made dinner at least 4 nights a week. Kept up with the laundry. Went to work. My reflection was depressing. That was when I made the decision to try something new. I was determined that by New Years Eve the coming year I was going to have a list! A great list! A list that I could look back on and feel good about.
I decided to come up with 12 Things that I wanted to do the coming year. One per month, although I was open to switching the months around or doing two in one month etc…as long as there were twelve.
12 THINGS
For January I knew what I wanted right away. For 20 years I had been telling myself that “SOMEDAY” I was going to do the Lobster Dip (an ocean plunge for Special Olympics every New Years Day at Old Orchard Beach) When exactly did I think this “someday” was going to be? I decided it was now. After that I added 11 more things that I knew were basically attainable. Things I had always wanted to do or said I would do. Take my kids to a play at Lakewood Theater, drink one bottle of water five days a week for a month, stop wearing my reading glasses as a hair accessory, take my kids to New York City, take a sign language class. It was so much fun to check things off the list each month and when I looked back on my year I felt amazing. Since then, I have also taken adult tap lessons, climbed a mountain (a small one), saved up and went on a cruise and this year my list includes things like learn to use a sewing machine, make a cheesecake (why have I never made a cheesecake?), improve my credit score by 100 points and go to one of those Paint Night classes.
Just a thought. Make the list your own. Think about all of those things that you keep telling yourself you are going to do “someday”, and make 2019 your someday. If you happen to add something like “jump into a hole in the ice for a great cause” please see above details on our plunges. Your SOMEDAY is now!
Lisa Bird has been the Director of Public Relations & Athlete/Youth/Law Enforcement Initiatives for Special Olympics Maine for 27 years. Lisa is a graduate of both the University of Maine in Farmington and Orono and sings in the Christian Band, Fulcrum. She lives in Gorham with her husband Frank of 21 years and their teenage, hockey playing sons Noah and Jonah.
