I pulled away from Colin's school today with a (happy) tear in my eye grateful for having the opportunity to watch him at his parade (Chris was with the other 2). The first time around the field I could see him looking for me and when he finally found me, his eyes and face lit up. The second time around, I could see he was a little upset/unsure/wanting to come over and see me. He kept looking at his para with a smile like "that's my mommy" and then he came running over to hug me. He had the biggest smile and said "mommy! You came to see me!". I sent him back to the line and he went right back where he was supposed to.
As Down Syndrome awareness month is coming to a close, I hope that my message has been pretty clear; in most ways, we are a typical family of 5 that has lots of great moments, but some really challenging ones too. While I truly believe Colin would not be who he is today if he didn't have Down Syndrome (and I am thankful for that), I also have my moments where I am frustrated and discouraged over the things that are harder for him because of it. Chris and I were always told that we were given Colin because we were "special people" or because "God didn't give us more than we could handle". I'm not sure this is entirely true; I believe that our family is who we are because we have grown and been changed through each great moment and especially through each challenge too. I don't think I was particularly strong or special before, but I know that I am not the same person now. Through each moment in life, I continue to grow and change and bend to what comes our way.
This is life for us, our life, and I wouldn't change a thing about it (well, I wouldn't mind getting a little bit more sleep...).
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