Of course its hard to imagine either of those things; its hard to imagine Down syndrome not being a part of our lives, now that it is so very intertwined into our family. Once something is a certain way you have no idea to know what life would be like as any other way.
I don't know how much of Kayla's personality would be different if she didn't have Down syndrome.
One of the biggest things to happen on this journey we started 7 years ago is of course all the people that are now in our life because of that extra chromosome. And the experiences we wouldn't have had, and have yet to have, because of belonging to that "T21 club."
If she didn't have Ds ...
- we wouldn't attend Buddy Walks every year
- we wouldn't be talking about attending a Buddy Cruise
- we wouldn't have met Rachel Colman
- we wouldn't be getting involved in Special Olympics
- I wouldn't have learned about other syndromes like Williams, Patau, and Edwards.
- we wouldn't have gone to Sesame Place for a Ds get-together
- we wouldn't have found ourselves in Boston for convention meeting a whole bunch of friends IRL
- we wouldn't have been in Orlando for convention meeting blogger friends (and where I was able to see 2 high school friends I hadn't seen in 20 yrs)
- I wouldn't have had the courage to approach Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers in Orlando
- we wouldn't have met a few well-known people connected to the Ds community
- I wouldn't really notice others with Ds when out and about; now I actively 'look' around and smile when I come across another individual with Ds
- we wouldn't have met all the wonderful people IRL we've met through blogging or message boards
- Kayla's eyes wouldn't have those Brushfield stars and thus not have been featured in the British Journal of Hospital Medicine
- we wouldn't have our story included in the wonderful book Gifts: Mothers Reflect on how Children With Down Syndrome Have Enriched Their Lives
- we wouldn't have the opportunity to attend camp Victory Junction
- we wouldn't have some beautiful cards painted by Michael Jurogue Johnson
And simply put, Kayla just wouldn't be Kayla if she didn't have Down syndrome.
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6 comments:
I love this Michelle. Very, very true.
Great post, Michelle. It really makes you think about the turns our lives have taken (other than the medical and developmental ones).
Kayla just wouldn't be Kayla and that's just not acceptable! God knows her grandma and grandpa love her dearly and just can't imagine her being anyone other than who she is.
This is a great post!
Great post and so very true!!! I was cracking up at the pictures of when you guys came to visit, Ella was such a chunk! Did I ever tell you that Ella and Cathy McMorris Rodgers son were in the same class together in their birth to 3 school? Pretty cool!
Kayla is Kayla, no matter what, and she is absolutely perfect in my eyes and heart:-) xoxo
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