What I Have Learned - Take Twenty-Five

I have learned that some people in this world have heart, determination, and dedication.

Today I met a gentleman named Gordon Hartman. I listened to him speak about his daughter, Morgan. He spoke not from a businessman's perspective, but from a Father's. His special needs daughter always seemed on the outside looking in when it came to playing at a park. She, and other special needs children, couldn't always participate at parks and parties, limited by their disabilities, not by their desires. Mr Hartman could have gone about his frustration in several ways. He could have gotten angry at the park facilities, complained to fellow parents - countless other things. But he chose to DO something constructive. He chose to make things happen so Morgan, and other children with disabilities, would have somewhere to go in which they could call their own.

Morgan's Wonderland is a 25 acre unbelievably amazing park. I went on a tour of the facilities this afternoon, and it honestly left me speechless. There is a beautiful carousel with special seating for various types of disabilities. This carousel allows not just wheelchair accessible seating, but the wheelchair section actually MOVES up and down. None of this 'you just get to go around in the circle' bit - you actually get to move up and down. There are also several different types of swings throughout the park, including wheelchair swings. Seriously, not move your child out of their wheelchair if they wish to swing, but wheel your wheelchair onto the swing and be able to swing. If I sound in awe, I am, absolutely and completely. There are sand diggers and water tables, play areas and a sensory village. There is a catch and release pond to go fishing, water cannons, and remote controlled boats. There are picnic facilities, and even a garden sanctuary. They have taken time to open their hearts to the needs of those with disabilities, and provide this amazing place for them to enjoy.

Mr Hartman also spoke of wanting this park to be inclusive for everyone, those with special needs, and those without. I have five children who are not special needs children. But my five children could learn a lot from spending a day at Morgan's Wonderland. They have not had to look at the world through the eyes of someone with a disability. They have not had to experience life where places are not the most wheelchair friendly, thus affecting what and how they can participate. They have not had to see life through eyes other than their own. They have always been able to run to a park, hop on the nearest piece of playground equipment, and go about their merry time on it. They have lived without limits to their fun, without limits to their mobility, without limits to anything they wanted to experience. They have been spoiled in their lives, spoiled by their abilities. I believe a day spent beside other children, who are just as they are, yet just a little different, might be one of the best learning experiences they could ever have. To be able to see life through the eyes of another child, just wanting to have fun.

Perhaps, even as adults, we should all spend a day at Morgan's Wonderland. To see the things we take for granted, the things we may never think about, to see firsthand some of the things we have never stopped to consider. Our tour guide today, Mr. Dave Force, spoke of a 50 year old woman who came to visit the park. She was confined to a wheelchair. She went on the wheelchair accessible swings and said it was the first time in her life she had ever been on a swing. Ever. In her life. I thought of all the times in my life I had been on a swing. As an infant, as a toddler, a child, a teenager. As an adult with my own children on my lap. For as far back as I can remember to as recently as a few months ago - my butt has felt the seat of a swing. I have totally and without a doubt taken that action for granted, and never thought twice about it.

But walking those grounds today, I stopped taking a lot of things for granted. Both in my own lifetime, and in that of my childrens. Morgan's Wonderland was built straight from a Father's heart out of love for his daughter. It was built on big ideas, and not so impossible dreams. Mr. Hartman made it happen. His success will undoubtedly be shown by the countless smiles of the patrons who visit the park. But what he may not see, but is just as big of a part of his success, is the hearts, such as mine, he has touched in this endeavor.

To Mr. Hartman, his family, his team, those who helped make Morgan's Wonderland a reality - I thank you for your heart and dedication. To those reading this - go visit the park. See where dreams will come true every day. Take your children, volunteer, go visit for yourself - be a part of something more. I promise you - this IS something more.