Monday, March 21, 2011

Happy World Down Syndrome Day...

Happy World Down Syndrome Day. 5 years ago I didn't know how much I would mean that. Happy. So happy that my beautiful daughter has Down syndrome and has made our world a brighter lovelier place.

I would not change her for anything. I would not take away the Down syndrome. I do not regret a minute of our journey. Lilly has made us the happiest most proud parents and it is an honour to be blessed with the ability to raise her every day - to teach her and to love her and to have her make me laugh every day.

I think one of the most rewarding things about being a parent is to learn from your child as much as you teach her. And certainly most days are filled with both learning and teaching by us both.

Down syndrome is not sad, it is not negative. It is not the focus of our lives, either. Lilly is a normal fun-loving beautiful child, and she has Down syndrome. It is part of her, part of our family, but we are more concerned about getting the right size jazz shoes for her hip hop class than to dwell on what Down syndrome is or isn't. I'm much more concerned that she has the proper adorable wardrobe for Barcelona and Rome this summer, and making sure she has the best Sunday spent with her mommy and daddy, and that she learns how to make the perfect loaf of Irish Soda Bread on St Patrick's Day.

To a new parent beginning this journey, to an expectant mom wondering what this might mean in her family, and to all the people who aren't personally blessed with such an amazing gift such as we have: life is beautiful. Lilly is amazing. We are blessed. We've had such an incredible journey and I look forward to such a bright future ahead.

1 comment:

Deanna said...

I have been following your blog for a while, but thought I would drop in for a comment on today's lovely post. It is so encouraging to see how amazing your daughter is doing with her dancing and swimming! Thank you for showing us how the Ds does eventually fade to the background, overtaken by life.