He ain’t heavy…he’s my brother: Polar Plunge 2020

This past weekend, I had the opportunity to do a different type of photography.  Everyone that knows me knows that I don’t normally do people photography.  I shoot wildlife and landscapes...anything that has anything to do with nature.  But my granddaughter had volunteered to do the Polar Plunge this year.   My Lyllie and another cheer team member, her friend, Lilly were going to jump into that frigid water to show support to their team member Brie(pictured above)   You see, Brie has a little brother, Cade, who just happens to rock an extra 21st chromosome.  He has Down’s Syndrome.  The Polar Plunge is all about raising money for Special Olympics of Minnesota.  This year, Brie wanted to do the Polar Plunge for her little brother Cade, and she pulled together a team of family and friends.   Because Lyllie was going to do the plunge in support of Brie,  I decided to bring my camera.  And I’m so glad I did.  Initially, I thought I was just going to snap a few pics and post them on Facebook.  But as I began looking at the pictures, and editing them, I saw the story unfold...   In that opening picture of Brie, the look on her face speaks volumes...it tells the story...not of the frigidly cold water of a lake...in Minnesota...in the middle of February; but that of a sister who loves her little brother so very much, that she would do anything for him, including jumping into that frigid lake. I look at this sweet girl’s face, in this picture, and that’s what I see...her love and determination, that no matter what challenges her little brother may face in life, he will never face them alone, because she will be there, by his side, every step of the way. This picture is Brie on the right, coming out of the big polar bear with her friend Kerrianne.   Kerrianne is Brie’s friend from school and dance.  Just look at how they are holding each other’s hands.  So much love there!!  They didn’t let go of hands even into the jump. These two brave little girls were the first of their group to jump in, and they did it together... Kerrianne doing this to show her love and support for her friend. My Lyllie and their friend, Lilly are Brie’s teammates from Planet Spirit, their cheer gym.  They too came out holding hands, supporting each other as they supported their friend.  Again, the love and the bond here just totally grabbed my heart... And that look on my Lyllie’s face made me cry.  None of these girls knew quite what to expect when they hit that water, but that wasn’t going to stop any of them from doing this jump for Cade.  I am amazed at the bravery and strength of all of these girls.   There were more jumpers for Team Cade...I don’t know for sure who they are, but I’m guessing they are family.  More love and support for Cade and his family.  They are the ones who have been there through the ups and downs and struggles...all of them saying, you are not alone.  We have your back and to show you that, we are doing this jump with Brie.  Wholeheartedly and with so much love. I saw so much support for this young lady and her family.  So much love surrounding this one little boy who brought all of these people together to jump into a frozen lake.  This was an amazing day and I’m so glad I was blessed enough to be there to take these pictures.  Of all the thousands of pictures I have taken, these pictures have been some of the finest I have been privileged to shoot.  And I am so proud of my beautiful girl who chose to do this out of love and support for her friend.  Thank you all for letting me tell this story!   Before the jump... Team Cade...these are all of Cade’s Super Heroes...   And after the jump, they all came out still smiling...