Odyssey of the Mind- We're going to the State Competition!!

Ten years ago, if you ever told me I would be an overly zealous mom in the bleachers, cheering my brainiac of a son (and his team) on during an Odyssey of the Mind competition, I'd have told you that you had one too many screws loose!

This year was the first year that any of us had ever heard of Odyssey, never mind actually participate in it. The club meetings were after school, and Alex seemed to love it. It gave him something to get all of his creative energy out, creating solutions to mind boggling situations, creating devices to complete a task at hand, and working alongside his peers as a team. The last factor was a huge factor for me, especially with the rough year he had last year. His Odyssey teammates seem to understand him better, and accept him for who he is- quirks and all. Alex fits in well with the group of kids he works with, and absolutely adores his coach.

So today was the day the children were preparing for.. County Competition. They did their "spontaneous" competition (kind of like word association), and then we split up for lunch between the two designated time slots. When we returned, (with Alexzander decked out in his suit, blue tee, and blue plaid boat shoes portraying his character, "Mr. Party", the principal at the 'school' in their skit), we realized just how much our son truly fit in, and how much they accepted him, no matter what.

Their class was absolutely adorable, and the judges LOVED it- and at 2:00, they said it was the best (in that category) they've seen all day! Alex was awarded a pin and a ribbon, and will get a certificate at school. The entire team was thrilled when they announced that our team was chosen to go to the State Competition in April. I'm not sure what the "official" rules are for posting videos, but because we're going to be using the same skit, I'm going to hold off on posting it here .In April, I'll be sure to post the video for you all to enjoy!