Tour Guide on a Trip to A Fabulous Life

It's World Down Syndrome Day today and I have a  few years (almost) 4 of exploring this syndrome. I look back at when my daughter was first born and boy did I not have a clue, not a single one.  Down Syndrome is not the ideas or statistics that all the specialists and doctors throw at you as you hold your baby in your arms. It's not the heart defects, the low muscle tone, the developmental delays, don't get me wrong it's part of it but it's not all of it.   I know that there are moms out there who are holding your baby for the first time who have just been given the news that your baby has an extra chromosome.  I wish I could be there next to each one of you, to give you a big hug to tell you that it's going to be okay.   I want to tell you that your baby needs you just like any other baby, that your child is going to do so much.  I would tell you that she may not walk when other kids do but she will and when she does, there will be no holding her back.  She may not talk when other kids talk and guess what that's okay too because eventually she will and she will have lots and lots to say.                                There are so many lessons that your little one is going to teach you, so get your pencils ready.  I don't know what your little one has in store for you but I can tell you from my own experience that Leah has taught me the meaning of true-unconditional love.  She has taught me patience.  She has taught me to trust, to love, to understand and to hope.  She has shown me that there is good in most people, she has taught me to smile, to care, to speak up.  I could go on and on about all the things I have learned in the past 3.5 years.  Just know that this is not a death sentence, this is not the end of your life, this is the beginning.  You will explore parts of your life and world and heart that you never knew existed.  So love and trust in your little one that it is going to be an adventurous trip but one so worth taking with a fabulous tour guide.