Angel or Devil. Call it what you wish.....it's the mind of a 2 year old. I should know, I have one. Andrew is 2 years, 7 months and 1 week, to be exact.
Now, the common perception is that kids with Down Syndrome are always happy. I really can't disagree. Having 4 kids I've seen the Terrible Two's four times over and, I must say, Andrew's 2-year-old-ness has been, by far, the easiest. Yes, he's happy. No need for a sunrise, he lights up the room with his huge grin every morning. He exhibits goofy 2 year old antics that make everyone around him giggle...including himself. If he gets a boo-boo he cries, like any child, but only for a moment; then he's recovered & off on another adventure. Right now he has a cold. He woke up in the middle of the night last night because of his stuffy nose. As we were rocking in the chair, at 1am, him having a hard time breathing through the goop invading his nose and with weary eyes, he gave me the world's biggest, most sincere smile. Now that's happy.
Because of his sunny disposition, people are drawn to him wherever we go. He has a fan club at our local coffee shop. The staff crowds around the drive-thru window to get a peek of him whenever we stop there. More than once we've had strangers in Walmart come from aisles away just to talk to him. We usually have more than one employee at the checkout...others come to our line when they see him.
So yeah, kids with DS are happy. But they're also kids. And, even as happy as Andrew is, he's still a 2 year old. And we all know what that's like!
Andrew gets pretty peeved with me when he's taken his last bite of ice cream and I refuse to give him more. He now hates having a bath and runs from me when I tell him it's bath time. He emits noises similar to a loud, angry bear when I won't let him go outside with his older siblings. His favorite pass-times are flushing the toilet, unrolling the toilet paper and unloading the dresser drawers. And, as I type, he's having a grand old time unloading my kitchen cupboards and launching Tupperware into all corners of the room.
Yeah, he's happy....but he's also 2!
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One mom. One dad. Four kids. Traveling together down the road of life.
- The Visser Family
- Our's is a family of six. Not too big, not too small. Brady is our oldest at 15 years old. Ellie, our only daughter, is now 9 years old. Michael is 6.5 years old and Andrew, the baby of the family, is 5. Andrew holds a special place in our family, not only because he's the youngest member, but because he was born with Trisomy 21, otherwise known as Down Syndrome. One extra chromosome on the 21st pair. Down Syndrome is the most common genetic anomally, occuring in 1 out of every 500 or so births each year. Unfortunately, due to society's misunderstood notions of Down Syndrome, many women abort their babies when given even a speculative prenatal diagnosis. Hopefully, this blog will help people understand that a diagnosis of Down Syndrome is not the end of the world...it's the beginning of a new, better world.
End The 'R' Word
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~~~~~~~~~~~~
I wish the world could see you as I see you
Wish they knew the joys you've brought to me
So many people quick to judge us
and see you as someone who shouldn't be
They tell me that your life is not worth living
if they were I, they would have never let you live
They cannot know the thing it is that we know
They will never know how much you have to give
They talk a lot of sacrifice and burden
They imagine that your being is our loss
How can they know you saved me when you found me
when I never even knew that I was lost.
True enough, my world has changed forever
nothing in it is as it was so long ago
Your entry in our world has changed so many things
but none so much as they have changed my soul.
Why do we live our lives at all, then,
if there is some race that we must finish first
Why do we deny ourselves it all when we drown so that we may quench our thirst
You taught me to stop and smell the tulips
they are different than the roses, this is true,
their scent is in my every pore now
I never would have known them without you
To all the many people who would not choose you
who think your life is somehow tragedy
I say you have outlived them and outloved them
I am grateful God chose you just for me
You love your life and everyone thats in it
you shine your light without knowing that you do
Illuminate the darkness with your sparkle
my child, my love, my life, thank God for you.
~ Author Unknown ~
I wish the world could see you as I see you
Wish they knew the joys you've brought to me
So many people quick to judge us
and see you as someone who shouldn't be
They tell me that your life is not worth living
if they were I, they would have never let you live
They cannot know the thing it is that we know
They will never know how much you have to give
They talk a lot of sacrifice and burden
They imagine that your being is our loss
How can they know you saved me when you found me
when I never even knew that I was lost.
True enough, my world has changed forever
nothing in it is as it was so long ago
Your entry in our world has changed so many things
but none so much as they have changed my soul.
Why do we live our lives at all, then,
if there is some race that we must finish first
Why do we deny ourselves it all when we drown so that we may quench our thirst
You taught me to stop and smell the tulips
they are different than the roses, this is true,
their scent is in my every pore now
I never would have known them without you
To all the many people who would not choose you
who think your life is somehow tragedy
I say you have outlived them and outloved them
I am grateful God chose you just for me
You love your life and everyone thats in it
you shine your light without knowing that you do
Illuminate the darkness with your sparkle
my child, my love, my life, thank God for you.
~ Author Unknown ~