Linking up with the wonderful T21 Traveling Afghan Project again this week. (The last 3 weeks have involved attending a conference, flying to Boston, renovating our kitchen, all three of us coming down with colds, prepping the yard for summer…and the next 2 weeks aren’t looking any quieter! I’m grateful for these writing prompts!)
This week’s prompt is “The Day I Met Down Syndrome…”
I officially met Down syndrome for the first time on June 1, 2010.
But then I met the mother of an adult with Down syndrome, and learned the future is bright. I met Down syndrome again in August 2010.
My pale, tired little girl went for heart surgery at just 4 months old. She came out from pink and smiling, wiggling and cooing – ready to take on life. I met Down syndrome again on September 29, 2010.
I found out I am a carrier for translocation, and was forced to re-examine all that I felt and believed about Down syndrome. I met Down syndrome again in December 2010.
We started attending a GiGi’s Playhouse. I saw the extra chromosome all around me, saw my love for my sweet girl reflected in new friends I made there. I met Down syndrome again in the spring of 2011.
We celebrated our girl’s first birthday surrounded by family and friends, uplifted by laughter and love. I met Down syndrome again on June 1, 2011.
That fall, I felt called to do more, write more, advocate more. I applied for a policy training program, and started in January. I saw my daughter’s diagnosis through the lens of the greater disability community, and met Down syndrome again on January 18, 2012.
And I meet Down syndrome over and over again – in a loving email from a friend, in the “ah ha” moment of someone who realizes she’s just a kid and not a diagnosis, in the excited clapping and laughter when my sweet girl stands up without supports for the very first time.
And each time, I meet a different piece of Down syndrome, a different perspective, a different side. They are all lovely.
Looking forward to meeting it again.
The Garden of My Heart 