May 1 Memories- Superhero Sprint

  Over the last month, Amanda has started to write down memories of Audrey's life.  I have challenged myself to write down a different memory for every day of May.  May Memories of Audrey will help me focus some of my memories, some organized by topic, some chronologically organized. 

To kick off my daily memories of Dree in the month of May, I am going back to my memories of the Superhero Sprint from April 2023.  It popped up on my Facebook memories on April 29.  The Superhero Center and the ABA therapists who really helped Dree reach levels we were proud of, provide too many memories for just one post.  

So for today, I will focus on last years' Superhero Sprint as the memory of the day.

Saturday April 29, 2023
We were running late on Saturday, April 29.  Pop Pop Dan and Grandma Char made the visors with "Team Dree" on them.  We piled into Grandma's van and drove to Doty Park in Belvidere.  There were no more parking spots, so Pop Pop Dan dropped us off.  We snapped a quick pic of the 4 of us in front of  the Doty Park hockey rink.
We quickly ran to the starting line (the race had already started).  Pop Pop Dan joined us soon.  Hannah wanted to run, so my dad and I (with Dree in the red adaptive stroller) joined Hannah and ran ahead of Grandma Char and Amanda.  Special Thanks to Amanda who spent hours of her life advocating and fighting with insurance for the red adaptive wheelchair stroller. 

We ran into some of Audrey's ABA therapists on the trail.

Front Running Hannah decided she needed a push in the stroller.
Pop Pop Dan was rocking the green visor.
Audrey and Hannah loved walking together, running together, pretty much anything together. 
Crossing the finish line together!

After Hannah and Audrey crossed the finish line together, my dad and I crossed.   
Pop Pop Dan won an award for his age division.

We soon met up with Amanda and Grandma Char.  Grandma Char noticed how many people were coming up and saying hi to Audrey.  It was awe inspiring that a non verbal 4 almost 5 year old knew so many people and that so many people knew and loved her.
Dree and some of her favorite people.

Afterwards, Audrey and Hannah wanted to keep playing on the playground.  They both did not want to go (even though the weather was still not the best).  A few people kept coming up and said hi to Audrey making their rounds.

The Superhero Sprint was rainy, and cold.  But it was fun too.  It is a good memory of Audrey, because many of the people who helped Audrey live to her potential over the last year were all there.  We are so grateful for her Superhero and ABA family.

We remember that day and Audrey every time we wear that pink shirt.

Please feel free to let me know if I left anything out from that day (really- I mean it) or if you have any memories of Dree from that day.


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