Falling into Down Syndrome

As I have become an adult (I think that happened at some point!), I have come to enjoy the changing of the seasons and the feelings they bring to me.  While my favorite season is Spring, Fall is a close second on my list.  I love the change to cooler temperatures and the beautiful colors that blossom on the hillsides.  After a long hot summer of pulling weeds and dragging a hose around, I am more than happy to see the demise of our vegetable garden.  (Gasp!  Did I just say that?!?)  I love the feeling of newness that comes with the beginning of a new school year.  Remember in “You’ve Got Mail,” when Tom Hanks says, “Don’t you love New York in the Fall?  It makes me wanna buy school supplies.  I would send you a bouquet of newly-sharpened pencils…”  That’s what Fall does to me!  I LOVE the back-to-school sales, and we always stock up on notebooks, pencils, and glue sticks.  It brings me back to the excitement of starting a new grade in school, wondering who my teacher would be, and feeling a twinge of nervousness at what the new year would bring.

Having children reminds me very much of a new school year.  There is the excitement of starting a new chapter, and time spent wondering who this little one will become.  And there’s nervousness about what being a parent entails.  Receiving a Down syndrome diagnosis carries all of these same feelings.  I am excited and nervous and filled with wonder about this new chapter in our lives.  I am excited to see all the little – and big – milestones that Daniel has and will continue to achieve.  I am excited that we get to learn and grow together.  I often find myself wondering about who this little boy is.  Who he REALLY is.  Because I know that he is special.  Behind those deep blue, almond-shaped eyes, there is a giant spirit who is more than a diagnosis, more than the 47 chromosomes he carries.  And I can’t wait to discover all those pieces that make him the person that is known and loved perfectly by the loving Heavenly Father who sent him to our home.  Of course I’m nervous about the unknowns in our future.  But it’s fleeting because we’re falling gently into Down syndrome…one day at a time…enjoying the changes that come with a new chapter and a new season.