MyTEAM Triumph Holiday Gathering

During summer Teddy and I spend most Monday nights running with myTEAM Triumph. We've been regulars the past 2 years at the training runs, so we've gotten to know many of the other regular captains, their families, angels and volunteers. The only problem is that we don't run through the winter months, which means we hardly see our MTT friends. 

It's taken a while to realize this, but Dave and I discovered at Halloween how easy it is to invite people over to our house during the winter months. Teddy has our entire house, which is Teddy proof, to play without any fear of him taking off (which happens often when we're outside) or breaking things (which happens at other peoples' houses) or getting into a lot of things he shouldn't (which happens pretty much every where). Our house is relatively easy to supervise Teddy whereas just about everywhere else requires constant 1:1 with a whole lot of redirection and physical wrangling.

So, we invited all the Fox Valley MTT group to our house for a holiday gathering. Despite the short notice, we had a total of 4 Captains and their families and 3 of the crew join us. We spent a couple hours snacking, talking, enjoying each others' company, sharing all our cool toys, snoozing in our comfy circle chair and playing cards. It was an absolutely perfect afternoon.

MTT friends who become like family.

AJ was the best host, getting drinks for people, handing out candy canes and sharing all the cookies and treats. We ended up with quite the spread of snacks, thanks to everyone's generosity. Dave set up the tripod to capture the entire group picture. We got to spend a couple hours with people who we see often but don't always get to have the in-depth conversations with since I'm usually chasing after Teddy unless he's strapped into the race chair. 

The host with the most.

One of the best parts of MTT is how accepting and understanding everyone is. Things that set us apart in the community, like taste testing every non-food item, are perfectly acceptable among this group. Toys that might be considered not age appropriate are really quite fun for a wide range of people, and that's perfectly OK. Teddy can invade people's personal space with no issues ... aside from us keeping the baby from being squished by a loving Teddy. (Even Teddy's gentle version is a bit rough for newborns.) Everyone keeps an eye out for each other's needs and steps in to help where needed, whether a helping hand, a supervisory eye or simply not being convinced to undo the child safety locks. (Nice try, Teddy.) 

Teddy loves babies almost as much as Ann. 

Simply put, acceptance is such a wonderful thing. Not being so terribly different is nice sometimes. In fact, I think 3 of the 4 Captains all have had mattresses lying directly on the floor in their bedrooms because it worked for them, Teddy included. Another Captain had his bedroom closet doors removed, which is exactly what we've done in Teddy's room because it's apparently quite fun to kick the doors when you don't want to sleep. 

We had a house full of people all day, with play dates for each boy this morning and this gathering this afternoon. House full and hearts fuller.