A boy and his ball

Having an extra chromosome in our family brings a flood of different emotions...mostly happy ones that more times than not happen unexpectedly.

It's UEA weekend and as I'm sitting in Fat Cats feeling all fat and happy from the yummy bread stick I've just devoured, I'm watching Matt kick my butt in our first game of bowling (and no I'm not letting him win...mama don't play that way) I'm reminded of an experience that happened to us a couple of years ago at Fat Cats. An experience I hope to never forget.

Let me start by asking you a question...have you ever seen the inside of a bowling ball? I never knew you could see the inside of a bowling ball but leave it to Matt to give me this experience. I can tell you that it looks like a giant size jawbreaker. Made me realize that there are people out there who have jobs actually assembling bowling balls, crazy huh! But that's not what this is about...let's get to the cool part.

Matt has been bowling in the Special Olympics for about the last four years. When he first began my baby brother proudly nicknamed him "Fireball" because Matt likes to throw his ball really fast....he's all about his form you know :) Well we thought it would be fun for him to have his own ball and shoes and because he has this nickname we thought we'd go with that as his theme. After practice one day we went to the shop in Fat Cat's where he picked out a black and red ball with flames...shoes to match. How fitting! Matt was so proud because he used money he had been saving to buy it. His first big purchase.

About two years ago his class went bowling for a field trip at a local bowling alley. It was during this trip that the "fireball" in Matt came out and he threw his bowling ball in his normal form (fast fast fast) only to have it catch the corner of the lane and break. His teacher was shocked and sent me an email letting me know Matt's ball had "broken". Now I know you can't break a ball so I'm expecting to see a chip...certainly not two halves, which is what he brought home. Holy Cow! The ball was barely a year old so we went to Fat Cats to see if they could send it back to the manufacturer. Now Fat Cat's isn't any where near where we live and quite honestly, it's their bread sticks that lure us clear up there...mmmmm just thinking about them.

Anyway, we drove up that same night to show them the ball but they told us that the bowling alley where it broke would have to help us get it taken care of as they technically should be responsible. So we drove all the way back our way and stopped in at the bowling alley where it happened and talked to the manager. He told us that there was nothing wrong with the lane Matt had bowled on but ironically they could see where the ball had a chip in it so the chip in the ball helped break it when it hit the corner and this means it was a defective ball so actually Fat Cat's should be responsible. UGH!!! All I know at this point is that it's starting to sound like nobody wants to help my boy out with his ball and I'm not too thrilled about the run around.

We take the ball back up to Fat Cat's and this time we have Matt with us. They are not happy to see us again as they've already told us once that this is not their responsibility. Just as we expected...this was going to be no easy task and all I wanted was for my boy to have his ball. After a few minutes of bantering back and forth, I could feel the Mama Bear in me starting to emerge...sort of hulkish like...the only problem is when I get this worked up, the tears take over. So big, bad, mama bear is standing there trying not to blubber like an idiot, doing everything she can not to throw herself over the counter to strangle the guy when from no where Matt steps in and saves the day. I swear he's magic!

He has no idea what is going on. He has no idea the odds are against us right now but he walked right up to the guy, grabbed his hand, shook it and said "I'm Matt". The gentleman hesitates, introduces himself to Matt at which point Matt uses his standard come back "Hi...you a smart man". All of us then stood there in silence. The guy asked Matt if he likes to bowl and Matt proceeds with explaining that he bowls in the Special Olympics. Just like that you can feel the tension in the room start to disappear. The guy looks at John and I, takes the receipt, asks if he can keep the ball and tells us he is going to call the manufacturer. We agree to leave the ball and before leaving to head home Matt gives the guy a hug and thanks him over and over and over. At this point I'm feeling really emotional. My son magically changed the mood in that room in a matter of minutes...and he had absolutely no idea. I was so proud and was trying not to let the flood gates open. Honestly, regardless of how proud of him I was, I didn't feel confident that we would have luck getting his ball fixed. In fact, I felt like we would soon be buying him a new ball.

It was about a week later that I was at work and on my work line I got "the call". Our friend at Fat Cats had called to tell us that the manufacturer was not going to fix Matt's ball. I could feel the emotions coming to a head but before I had a chance to get defensive his next words stopped me dead in my tracks....

"Mrs. Hooton, I'm very sorry about your son's ball but I have to tell you that your son touched me in a way that I've never experienced. After you left that night I found myself in the back room crying. Crying because he taught me in a matter of minutes about what's important in life. He made me think of all the things that get me upset and I realized they are little things that are not important. For your son, his ball is important. I'm glad I met your son....I have ordered him a new ball and have taken care of the expense".

Do you feel it? do you feel what I felt that day? I had a knot in my throat and chest the size of a tennis ball. I didn't know what to think or say. I could feel my eyes beginning to sweat. I could feel that I was going to need my tissues and fast. He and I shared a few more kind words and I repeatedly thanked him for being so kind. I hung up and cried....so proud of my magic son.

A few weeks later our new friend was happy to see Matt when we went to pick up his ball...he even surprised him and had it engraved with his nickname "Fireball".

Matt still has that ball and in March 2009, his team took the gold in Special Olympics which sent them to State competition. A few weeks later his team went to the State competition where they took the Gold. It was a great year!!

All because of the magic between a boy and his ball....