That feeling . . .

I think Lisa hit the nail on the head about my post yesterday. She wrote:

I so hear you on this. What you may be feeling is a healthy dose of gratitude, mixed with a new clarity and a sense of belonging (for you and Finn). You're seeing a future that is different from what you may have initially wanted, but one that you can most definitely handle.

Gratitude. Yeah. That's it. I think that's the underlying emotion I find myself having (without even having recognized it) when I feel this connection to people I see with various disabilities/diagnoses, and of course, especially Down syndrome. Gratitude. For opening my heart. For humbling me. For allowing me to feel like a part of something much bigger than myself. And I don't mean that in any godly sense, I just mean . . . if there's any force at all at work in the world, it's the force of being part of the human race. For all of our differences, people have so much in common. Everyone has something to offer, some gift, some contribution. Every life has value. And nobody can tell me that Finn's life is a tragedy.

And I guess those are the things I feel when I feel that connection.