Little Lucia: 7/1/17

Our Lu on the side watching kids play...

To many young kids it doesn't get much better than playing on a playground. The carefree joy of swinging, climbing, and going down a slide, over and over again can be the highlight of a child's day. A playground is also one of the only places where it’s free, unorganized, unsolicited play. Kids aren’t divided up by age, ability or need and they can play alongside others they've never met, kids from all walks of life. The beauty of a playground is unlike no other. It's pure, it's simple, it's old-fashioned outdoor fun...for most. I'll never forget meeting a group of my daughter's friends for a play date at a newer centrally located playground in Denver. Kids were running and jumping and playing all around, just whirling around like happy bees in a hive. My first-born daughter Lucia and her friends we met that day are not like most kids. Lucia is in a wheelchair and has many other challenges, as do many of her friends. We met at the park that hot summer day and pushed our kids up to the playground. As so many kids buzzed around us, having the best time, our kids sat in their chairs and just watched. There wasn't one thing in that huge park that was available for them to do. Not one thing.

Lucia and her friends at the playground

A simple supported swing, a slide without a ladder, and so many other options could have given our kids a chance to just be kids. Instead they were once again sidelined to just sit and observe. It. Broke. My. Heart. This situation happens over and over again in the Denver area. Some playgrounds do offer a supported swing but that is usually the only piece and only on occasion.

Every single child deserves a chance to play, to play beside their peers. They deserve a chance to smile on a slide. The deserve a chance to feel the wind on their face on a swing. They deserve to be kids. There are so many things kids with special needs aren’t able to participate in and playgrounds should not be one of them.

Not a day goes by that I don't thank God for my amazing Lucia and all the joy she brings to our lives. Thinking about all she goes through medically and physically can be devastating. Her legs don't work like most. Her eyes and ears don't work like most. Her arms and even hands don't work like most. The list could go on. But her heart. Her heart is full of more love than anyone I know. She doesn't complain. She doesn't judge. She doesn't ask for any special treatment. She is just a little girl that was born different and she just wants to love and be loved and feel joy and experience joy. So, my precious bird we are working to make a change.

We are working to build a playground where you and your siblings and your friends and their siblings and kids of any need or genetic make-up can play together. We are going to build a playground because every child deserves a chance to play. This September 23rd, 2017 we will be holding our 5th St. Lucia White Party and this year it will be in honor of our inspiration, our light, our precious Lucia, our LuBird. Our recently founded nonprofit, LuBird's Light Foundation www.lubirdslight.org has a mission of creating a brighter world for exceptional kids.

Your light Lucia, has brightened our lives in more ways than we ever dreamed of and we are working to share it with all the kids who light up this world. With donations, sponsors, fundraisers and a lot of work, we are going to raise $500,000 to create an inclusive playground for all kids! Kids in wheelchairs, kids in walkers, kids who love to spin, kids who love to make music, kids who love to swing, for kids who just want to be kids. We plan to have supported swings, wheelchair swings, ramps, ladder less slides, teeter totters and spinners accessible to all with a vibrant, sensory rich, magical design. We are also working with the city to ensure there are supported swings in all the current playgrounds.

I've been told how lucky Lucia is to have us as her parents and I get uncomfortable every time, I don't like it. We are the lucky ones to be blessed with our girl. We are the lucky ones to be inspired by this little person to create something bigger than ourselves! Before Lu I probably wouldn't have noticed the lack of inclusivity in our area. I wouldn't have thought about the kids who struggle every day. I wouldn't have thought about parents in wheelchairs who can't take their own kids to playgrounds and play. Lucia has enabled us to see a whole new world.

Stanley Marketplace will be the site of LuBird's Light Foundation playground. With the help of landscape architects, developmental therapists, Anchor Center for blind children, Firefly Autism, Landscape Structures and input from families who are affected by special needs, we are going do our best to make sure it's a place for everyone. I love you Lu for all that you are and all the ways you brighten our lives. We are so excited to spread your light and create a brighter world for all kids. Thank you precious daughter for just being you. We could not be luckier to have you as ours.

Let's Build A Playground!