Life in our house gets pretty hectic. There's a 2 year old, a 3 month old, 2 puppies, and 3 cats. There's a man child that doesn't think cleaning up the dog poop is important. And there's also a mom that can be a bit of a control freak. Those kids have appointments, those pets make annoying messes and don't listen, those parents don't always agree, and that house is an old, annoying "not what I thought I was buying" kind of mess. A nice chunk of my day is "correcting" pets and children...AKA yelling at pets and children. My poor neighbors hear a lot of, "NO (insert one of five names here)!!" Another big part of my day is cleaning up never ending messes that really don't need to happen. Why did the dogs pull the table cloth off? Why is Tank eating out of the litter box and spitting it out on the floor? Why is there pee all over the toilet and surrounding area? Who doesn't shut the shower curtain? Did they think the bathroom needed a shower too? The other day, I even left the house in just my socks.
Every parent goes through this. That's what we sign up for when we have kids and get pets. Every couple has their arguments. I still often find myself praying for an easier day. Pleeeaaaase can the kids take a nap at the same time so I can put some wash away? Can Lillian leave the sleeping baby alone for more than 5 minutes so we can have some mom and Lilly time? Can she NOT act like a mean 13 year old girl when I try to help her with things? Why is everyone throwing a fit at the same time? No reason for them to be screaming like this....And then sometimes I join in and yell too.
I am lucky to have always been able to keep track of the so many good and amazing things that happen. Whether it be by posting about it, taking a picture, or recording a video. With all of our social networking and phones that I still think are capable of too many things, it's so easy to capture what is happening in our lives and share it with people. This helps on those days that you just can't get anything accomplished.
Andrew and I essentially met on Facebook. That's cheesy and whatever. But since most of our communication was through messages on Facebook, I still have all of them. I have all the first little moments that brought us here. So when I feel like I just can't stand him anymore, it's nice to go back and see what made us love each other in the first place. We are those same people, just in a different situation. It's easy to forget what pulled us together, but because I still have it all in my inbox, I get to relive it.
We are both constantly looking back on pictures and videos of both of our girls. While it makes us realize how fast they grow up, we are always able to see them reaching their milestones. I don't need to remember why I love my kids. But it is nice to go back and smile at all of those videos and pictures after a day of nobody getting along.
It's also awesome to see how far Lillian has come. I know we will love this with Maddy too, but we have watched Lillian try so hard for quite a few things and she has always proved she can do anything. Right now we are struggling with basic signing and it gets frustrating because I know she can do it. Then I get to watch old videos of her bear walking when we wanted her to stand and walk properly. Back then it felt like it took forever. One day, she just started running into her dad's arms. We spent an entire morning taking videos of her running to each of us to tackle and hug us. She did it on her own terms the way she wanted to. While I know she will reach all of her goals, seeing how she did it in the past makes it easier to keep trying today.
Today is one of those days. I'm typing this over the course of two hours with one hand while I sing and sign with Lilly, feed and burp Maddy, get dogs off the sofa, and shoo cats from the counter. I had half a cup of coffee and a cookie for breakfast, which is actually good compared to most mornings. I forgot to put on underwear this morning. And we are still waiting to have our new furnace installed towards the end of October in PA. Stressed much? But now I have this post as a reminder to look back. We all need to remember why we do what we do.
Wednesday, October 22, 2014
Thursday, October 16, 2014
What Lillian Wants You to Know...
October is pretty packed when it comes to awareness. Obviously, our favorite cause is Down Syndrome Awareness. We do a pretty good job surrounding ourselves with people that love and accept Lillian, but through social networking like Facebook we still find a lot of ignorance in our world.
It is easy to get angry. It is easy to be upset. I have every reason to be frustrated at people that don't understand my daughter and her diagnosis, especially when it leads them to say something rude. But at the end of the day, I need to realize that it is pure ignorance. They don't know any better. Yes, there are people that are just malicious and can't be helped. There are also a lot of people that have good intentions but have the wrong or no information. This usually comes in the form of, "She doesn't look like she has Down Syndrome, she looks fine..." Or, "She acts normal, she does what other kids are doing. Maybe she doesn't have it as bad as other people with DS." The MOST annoying one, "Have you ever had her retested? Maybe there was a mistake."
😳...✋...😑...
Listen. My daughter's blood doesn't lie. My daughter is who she is. Now that that is out of the way, I understand that the people that can say these things just don't know what Down Syndrome really means, is, or what it looks like. They are given the same outdated information that so many parents receive when getting their diagnosis. Can you blame them for being surprised at how well many of our children are doing? In the past, Down Syndrome meant low quality of life living in an institution. (Insert huge thank you to every family that went against that and proved our kids are worth raising and loving and letting the world see what they are really capable of.)
I can keep going with nice facts about what Down Syndrome means today and what that means for the future, but I think it would be better to talk about what Lillian would like you to know about her.
Lilly would want the world to know that she isn't beautiful DESPITE having Down Syndrome. She is gorgeous because of it. Her pretty eyes and cute nose are directly related to DS. Just as someone's red hair or blue eyes can make them appealing, Lillian's Down Syndrome is part of what makes her so adorable. She also isn't an exception. She is no doubt amazing, but that's because she's my baby. The things you see her doing are the same things every other kid with or without Down Syndrome will do.
Down Syndrome doesn't mean she suffers. Her little sister doesn't suffer. Her parents don't suffer. Her family doesn't suffer. We are all blessed to have her in our lives just as we are blessed to have her little sister Maddy. Her personality doesn't scream Down Syndrome. Instead it says, "I'm Lilly and I'm cute and I ROCK."
Lillian has the same feelings as anyone else. She isn't too stupid to understand. She doesn't need to be treated differently than others. Down Syndrome isn't an excuse to let her get away with things or treat her badly. She knows which people will let her do whatever she wants, which ones will fall for her sad eyes and which ones tend to give in to her cute acts. She's very smart and knows who to play and how. Lillian is a wonderful big sister, daughter, grand daughter, niece, cousin, and friend. She is determined and strong willed. Lilly is smart and witty. She is strong and always ready to dance or play.
Most of all, she wants you to see her for who she is. She does have Down Syndrome, and this is what it looks like. Accept that. Embrace it.
It is easy to get angry. It is easy to be upset. I have every reason to be frustrated at people that don't understand my daughter and her diagnosis, especially when it leads them to say something rude. But at the end of the day, I need to realize that it is pure ignorance. They don't know any better. Yes, there are people that are just malicious and can't be helped. There are also a lot of people that have good intentions but have the wrong or no information. This usually comes in the form of, "She doesn't look like she has Down Syndrome, she looks fine..." Or, "She acts normal, she does what other kids are doing. Maybe she doesn't have it as bad as other people with DS." The MOST annoying one, "Have you ever had her retested? Maybe there was a mistake."
😳...✋...😑...
Listen. My daughter's blood doesn't lie. My daughter is who she is. Now that that is out of the way, I understand that the people that can say these things just don't know what Down Syndrome really means, is, or what it looks like. They are given the same outdated information that so many parents receive when getting their diagnosis. Can you blame them for being surprised at how well many of our children are doing? In the past, Down Syndrome meant low quality of life living in an institution. (Insert huge thank you to every family that went against that and proved our kids are worth raising and loving and letting the world see what they are really capable of.)
I can keep going with nice facts about what Down Syndrome means today and what that means for the future, but I think it would be better to talk about what Lillian would like you to know about her.
Lilly would want the world to know that she isn't beautiful DESPITE having Down Syndrome. She is gorgeous because of it. Her pretty eyes and cute nose are directly related to DS. Just as someone's red hair or blue eyes can make them appealing, Lillian's Down Syndrome is part of what makes her so adorable. She also isn't an exception. She is no doubt amazing, but that's because she's my baby. The things you see her doing are the same things every other kid with or without Down Syndrome will do.
Down Syndrome doesn't mean she suffers. Her little sister doesn't suffer. Her parents don't suffer. Her family doesn't suffer. We are all blessed to have her in our lives just as we are blessed to have her little sister Maddy. Her personality doesn't scream Down Syndrome. Instead it says, "I'm Lilly and I'm cute and I ROCK."
Lillian has the same feelings as anyone else. She isn't too stupid to understand. She doesn't need to be treated differently than others. Down Syndrome isn't an excuse to let her get away with things or treat her badly. She knows which people will let her do whatever she wants, which ones will fall for her sad eyes and which ones tend to give in to her cute acts. She's very smart and knows who to play and how. Lillian is a wonderful big sister, daughter, grand daughter, niece, cousin, and friend. She is determined and strong willed. Lilly is smart and witty. She is strong and always ready to dance or play.
Most of all, she wants you to see her for who she is. She does have Down Syndrome, and this is what it looks like. Accept that. Embrace it.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)