Finnian's Journey: A different twist

"Y'all - don't miss it. Don't get so caught up in what your sweet baby is doing or not doing. Don't obsess about this step or the next step or the one after that or what is going to happen twenty years down the line. Because one day you'll look at baby pictures and think about how adorable that baby was and how all you can remember is therapy and you can't even remember what her hair smelled like.

So, ENJOY your baby. It doesn't matter when they walk or crawl or talk. It matters that they are here and that you love them and that they know it.

Just don't miss it."

Wendy, Zip Perdue Dee Dah

Friday, August 21, 2009

A different twist

I ran into the grocery store today to pick up a couple of things. Inside I saw a man with Down syndrome (a shopper, not a store employee). He looked to be in his 40s probably. He was with an older man who I assume was his father. The father was on one of those motorized scooters with the big basket on the front that the store provides for shoppers with mobility issues. They were leaving the store, and as they got near the exit, the older man got up off of the scooter and the younger one, the one with Ds, got on the scooter and expertly backed it up into its parking slot.

It's not so much that I was awed by the younger man's scooter parking prowess. It was more the fact that it was the man with Down syndrome helping the older, "typical" man. It was just . . . awesome. Made me think that people just have it all wrong about folks with Ds, you know?

5 comments:

Lisa said...: Love this story!; August 22, 2009 at 12:53 AM
Stephanie said...: Super ! I tell you, people do have it all wrong. I swear only the lucky few who have someone with Ds in their lives know the "secret", about these extraordinary wonders we call our children.; August 22, 2009 at 4:52 AM
The Sanchez Family said...: I know! It's the BEST kept secret. I saw a cute sight yesterday at Target too. It was two brothers probably in their 30's and one had DS and the other didn't. They were just walking down one of the isles and they were holding hands. It was so sweet. Mostly the fact that the "typical" brother had no apparent problem with holding his brothers hand in public. Just a sweet tender sight.; August 22, 2009 at 7:20 AM
Sharon said...: A great story!; August 22, 2009 at 8:15 AM
Lisa said...: I always say that my secret lies behind my Mona Lisa smile.

It is a secret to a type of happiness...so wonderful, so empowering, that most people spend lifetimes trying to find.

All because of my sweet Bridget...; August 22, 2009 at 5:37 PM