3/21/12: World Down Syndrome Day

Happy World Down Syndrome Day!

(hey, I still have 32 minutes left of it anyway!)

In September, when we have our local Buddy Walk, and in October, during Down Syndrome Awareness Month, I share a lot about Down syndrome... Down syndrome facts on Facebook and presentations at Rylee's school.

So when this day rolls around, (3/21 chosen because individuals with Down syndrome have 3 of the 21st chromosome) I feel like I want to share something a little different.

I want to share that even though special days or months throughout the year are great for stirring up awareness about Down syndrome, a lot of days I don't even think about Down syndrome.

Life with a child with Down syndrome is, often times, simply... life with a child.

So many moments in our lives are similar to moments in the lives of others...

Our kids argue in the back seat of the car.

Rylee complains when she has to put away her iPod at bedtime.

Rylee and Carter love playing on the swingset, and they help each other flip their legs up over the bar to hang upside down like monkeys and make their Mom incredibly nervous.

Our kids complain when we make asparagus, and ask for macaroni and cheese or hot dogs for nearly every meal.

Rylee loves watching Jordyn do her hair and make-up in the morning, and she tries to put clips and bands in her hair like Jordyn.


And then there are the moments that others may look at in our life and think, "Well, that's because Rylee has Down syndrome...."

We take Rylee to Speech Therapy on Mondays after school.

I go through Rylee's backpack after school each day and look in her communication notebook with her teachers to see how her day went (though Rylee shares a lot about her day herself!)

We go to Music Therapy on Wednesdays after school and Carter and I play games while Rylee has therapy and sometimes, Carter's called in to join them during the last few minutes of therapy.

I change the visual schedule on the table each evening at supper and we talk about who Rylee will be seeing the following day at school (therapists, etc.) and what other activities we have going on because Rylee is a very visual learner and she likes to know ahead of time what to expect.
 
Those moments are still life with a child.

They are life with our child.

And life with this child... well, it's pretty darn good.