thanks

When your child is born with Down syndrome, you are changed in so many ways.  Some that are quite clear from the start and some that show up years later.  If you are lucky, someone appears in your life that has a child with Ds and lets you know that everything will be fine.  If you are even luckier, you get to be that person for someone else.

I received a letter recently from a friend who called me when her son was born with Down syndrome.  She was full of gratitude and the letter made me cry in that happy blubbery way.  My goal in writing about my buddy and putting him out there in the world was just to help one person.  It is not in my nature to be so open, but the feeling I get each time someone thanks me is indescribable.

Life with my buddy can be really hard.  But life with my buddy is always incredible.  This morning I had to bring him along to a check up for rara.  He was zooming around the exam room on the doctor's chair.  As I tried to get him to stop, he looked up at me and signed "fun".  That is my buddy.  Always looking for the fun.

We got a holiday card in the mail that his Kindergarten teacher sent out.  Inside is his name scrawled at the bottom.  We debated if he could actually do this on his own - after all, in September all he could do was scribble.  I handed him a piece of paper and a pen and asked him to write his name.  Sure enough, he did it.  That boy constantly amazes me. 

I just want to thank my buddy for being who he is and giving me the amazing opportunity to share him with others and help some friends out along the way.  I also want to thank my friend for her touching letter - your words were felt deep in my heart.