A little GiGi Prep in their Step

Let’s be real, fitness is not for the weak and in Texas during the summertime… no thank you. But every Wednesday and Friday we started our day exercising for 20 minutes outside (yes, you read that correctly… outside) and not once was there ever a complaint. We walked around the building multiple times, we stepped over low hurdles, we practiced side-stepping with an agility ladder, and then after that we’d go inside for zumba. I’m not going to lie, there were many times that you could tell someone was struggling and the comrade was beyond anything I’ve ever seen. They would cheer their friends on, hold on to one another to help them through the exercise if needed and even call them out if they weren’t putting the effort in because they knew they had it in them to do better. Then after lunch we’d do it all over again and they truly enjoyed it because they knew they were making their bodies healthy & happy.

 Speaking of being healthy, every Friday we made lunch together, being mindful of what we were putting in our bodies and how much of it. Our first Friday I was terrified because there was knives everywhere I looked, cutting into fruits and vegetables… I remember thinking that this is not going to end well. Showing our friends how to hold a knife, how to cut into something without hurting ourselves, I don’t believe I’ve ever sweat so much. 6 short weeks later, it’s like they’ve been doing it their whole lives. Jacob, Mainak and Tyler are grape cutting experts. You need tomato diced, Nicole is your gal and then there’s Kristi teaching me how to cut a watermelon with a huge grin on her face. My favorite was when Carrie taught us all how to make parfaits. She stood up in front of all of her peers for 5 minutes instructing us on how to make them exactly the same size as a fist for exact portion control and why they were so healthy. I can honestly say it was the most delicious parfait I’ve ever had. They are thrilled to be able to learn with 100% complete hands on experience. That they’re making it for each other as a team is an extra bonus.

One of the earlier class lessons was having everyone make vision boards to help them set goals and visualize themselves in the future. There’s talk of one day GiGi’s having a cafe serving coffee and tea for them to be employed at. How AMAZING would that be? A very important life skill that they’ll need is learning how to count money and learning all the different coins. This was extremely challenging for our friends, but they were determined to conquer it. They had weekly homework that they brought back beyond proud of themselves for completing it. My personal favorite was watching then learn how to count by fives. Every week the counting got louder and louder until they were yelling because they knew beyond a doubt what the next number was going to be. They also had flash cards with coins on one and the combined amount of the coins on the other one that would have to match together to make it a pair. These could be extremely frustrating, but again our friends are never alone when confronted with a challenge, there is always someone to help them succeed. They also had to master how to introduce themselves to new people and make small talk. We brought my husband in for this exercise to surprise them with a new face and they were unwavering. They each took turns walking right up to him, looking him in the eye, introducing themselves and asking how he was, some more than once. My husband had such a wonderful time getting to know them that he ended up staying for an hour and was sad when it was time to move on to the subject.

On the last day of GiGi’s Prep we made certificates for our friends and presented them right before it was time to leave. As each person was called to receive their certificate, the smiles on their faces was one of the most beautiful sights I’ve ever seen. I’ll never ever forget the moment when Carrie was handed her certificate. She whispered in awe “I did it”, then tears of joy started rolling down her cheeks and she pumped both fists in the air just like Rocky and said it again put this time with certainty… I DID IT!!! They are recognizing the potential they have in themselves and that truly can accomplish anything that set their minds to. Down Syndrome in no way defines our friends. It’s just like I have freckles, brown hair and wear glasses. It’s part of who they are, but what really defines them is their constant joy, that they are always looking out for one another, their love to laugh and be silly, their desire to learn, and to be recognized and not discriminated.