What I Wish I Knew

When I found out Mom was pregnant with a baby who would have Down syndrome, I confess.  I was scared.  I didn’t know what it would mean for his life or for ours.  Well, recently World Down Syndrome Day was celebrated, and I saw this sweet post by  Amy Julia Becker, who lists five things she wishes she had known when she learned that her daughter was born with Down syndrome.  Here are two that jumped out at me:

You think Down syndrome means tragedy, and people will compare your experience to that of losing a child in a car accident or to cancer or some other horrible fate. And though you will experience a sense of loss, you will realize eventually that you have lost a hypothetical child, and that the child right in front of you, this child, with her sparkling eyes and crooked teeth and warm soft hand, this child is a blessing. In time, because of the privilege of knowing and loving her, you will realize that your grief has turned to gratitude and that your worry has turned to wonder.

and

You think Down syndrome means isolation, but you will discover that it brings a world of connections. It’s not only that you will now feel a bond with other parents of children with Down syndrome throughout the country and around the globe. It’s that having a child who looks and acts somewhat different from what you expected, a child who you see as beautiful and funny and kind and smart and brave, will help you to recognize that same beauty in everyone else. You will think your world has become smaller, when it has only begun to grow.

Read the other three here.

I can say Trig is one of the best things that has ever happened to our family!  I love him so much!! He shows life in a different light, he’s just a love bug. Now that he’s been in preschool, I can tell he’s learning so much.  I love seeing him grow up. It’s like everything he does is so big now! We’re so proud of him for everything he accomplishes. He just lights up our life. I love you, brother!

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