What a weekend!
It was the culmination of the Six Nations rugby tournament and we have been watching with great interest over the last 2 months.
Rugby is the national game of Wales. I love rugby. Linda loves rugby – and even as an adult with Williams Syndrome she is surprisingly knowledgeable and definitely gets carried along by the emotions of the game!
Everything rested on the final match against France and today we were glued to our TV set to watch the match.
The French team are arguably the best team in Europe – on a good day. On good days they are just brilliant to watch; creative, strong, swift, inspired… On a not so good day they are erratic, frustrating, disordered. And you never know which team is going to turn out!
Today they played well, but not well enough to overpower our beloved Welsh team and yes, Wales won the Grand Slam, winning every match in the tournament.
We cheered, we shrieked, we celebrated… and then as the excitement died down and the TV commentators discussed the highlights and match officials prepared the pitch for the presentation of the trophy…
Linda looked out of the window to her left, gazed at the sky and said quietly “Mum, they did it, they won the Grand Slam”.
It’s 12 years since mum died, 12 years since we watched rugby together… to Linda, only the blink of an eye.
Wow…
Really made me stop and think about how she – or any Williams Syndrome adult – copes with loss or separation. I guess bereavement is always challenging for people with learning disabilities or special needs.
It was just so touching to see her spontaneously and so gently share her joy with her Mum.
Yay Linda, go!!