Kids in foster care have seen more than their fair share of
hard days. My son Oscar was one of those kids. The stories that I heard about
his life before he joined our family literally gave me nightmares. However, he
didn't let that stop him from being a friendly, chatty, smiley kid. His
resilience is amazing!
Oscar’s therapist at the Family Support and Treatment center in Orem recognized this and nominated him for the BYU Football Thursday’s Heroes
program. He was selected, and he had an amazing experience.
On his special day Oscar got to watch the team practice their plays; then when they were done the whole team came over to meet him. One of the players spontaneously took off his beanie cap and put it on him. Then the team ran some plays with him. At one point they passed the ball to him and whole team cheered! Then they carried him on their shoulders as if he had just made the winning play in a game. At this point my heart was full and my tears were flowing. He got to sign the team flag and take pictures with the players. It was amazing. He really felt like a hero that day.
On his special day Oscar got to watch the team practice their plays; then when they were done the whole team came over to meet him. One of the players spontaneously took off his beanie cap and put it on him. Then the team ran some plays with him. At one point they passed the ball to him and whole team cheered! Then they carried him on their shoulders as if he had just made the winning play in a game. At this point my heart was full and my tears were flowing. He got to sign the team flag and take pictures with the players. It was amazing. He really felt like a hero that day.
That was about six years ago. In the spring of this year, the
Thursday’s Heroes organization reached out to the past heroes and asked what
they would do for their community if they were given an opportunity to choose
something. Oscar decided that he wanted other foster and adopted kids to be
able to feel special the way that he did that day. The BYU Football team
honored his request.
On
November 6th, foster families from Western Region were invited to a
team practice. We got to tour the facilities and watch the team play. As the
practice wrapped up, the players all came over to the kids and interacted with
them. They took pictures and signed autographs. The team members visited with
the kids and gave high fives and fist bumps. There was laughter and smiles all
around.
One
little boy walked up to BYU player Skye PoVey and said “I like your gloves!”
Skye responded with “You like them? They’re yours buddy.” And he handed him a
glove. Some of the players tossed the ball around with the kids; the kids were
running and smiling, and you could tell that for that moment at least all
troubles were forgotten. Throwing the ball around with a BYU player on the BYU
practice field was an experience that these kids will remember for years to
come.
Once
again tears were in my eyes as I watched the magic of what happens when someone
that a child looks up to treats that child like someone special. Having a
highlight day like that helps to offset the dark days of a hard childhood.
Confidence was built, hopes were kindled and memories were made. I loved
watching Oscar that day as he looked around at all the kids, knowing that he
had a hand in making it happen. I could see a spark of pride and even a sense
of protectiveness over those kids who are now where he once was.
I’m sending a
huge thank you to the BYU Football team for making the day amazing for Oscar
and for all the foster families who came.
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