Why I blog..........

I received a phone call the other day from one of my all-time favorite people. “Jane” was one of Ryan’s first therapists and really helped me in the early days of his diagnosis. She would always go on and on about how great he was doing. (even when other babies his age with DS were doing a lot more than him) She would always compliment his skills and my instincts (even though I was clueless about how to help him) Whether she was telling me these things to make me feel better, or she really meant what she was saying, she always made our days brighter. We loved having her while Ryan was in Early Intervention. The day he aged out, I cried, not only because my baby was growing up, but because I knew it meant we wouldn’t be able to work with her anymore. “Jane” would always make me smile, no matter how sad I was feeling about everything. She truly was a dear friend, and the best cheerleader we’ve ever had! We still miss her to this day, all these years later. It was so wonderful to talk to her again.

In the early days when Down Syndrome first entered our lives, I was so scared and uncertain. Back when Ryan was born, there weren’t any blogs, it was just message boards. Luckily I found a great support board for parents of kids with DS. Everyone welcomed me, and congratulated me on his birth. But, I often felt like I was the only one there that was sad about the diagnosis. All (or at least most) of the other moms who posted were so happy, loved their child so much and just embraced the whole DS life. Even though I loved Ryan with all my heart, I was still so distraught deep down……for a couple of years too, if I’m being totally honest. I then would feel guilty that I was sad, when everyone else going thru the same thing seemed so full of joy.

Many of the women I first met on that board have become like sisters to me. I’ve spent time in real life with quite a few of them, and consider them among my best friends. We’ve laughed, cried, shared stories, sorrows and drinks, and I look forward to many more happy, in-real life get-togethers with them and their beautiful children in the future.

Anyway, “Jane” was calling to chat about a new mom, who has been having some difficulty with this diagnosis (sounds familiar) I told Jane that I would be happy to talk to this new mom if she felt up to it. I then told her about Christine and John. I shared with her that the reason I started this blog was so that other moms just starting on this DS journey could actually see for themselves just how “normal” life could/would be with a child with DS. As I stated before, there were no blogs when Ryan was born, so I couldn’t “see” with my own eyes just how typical a life I could have with this special little boy. All I could do was imagine the worst. And it scared the hell out of me.

That’s why I started this blog, and that’s why I asked Jane to share this blog with any new parent faced with this situation. My hope is that reading about and seeing Ryan would help ease some of the fears new parents face, as it has with Christine. When she left me this comment:

“ Chris said...
Your children are beautiful. I love your blog. I have a 10 month old with Ds, and reading about your family gives me hope that the future may not be as different as I think. Thanks!
December 3, 2007 5:18 PM”

it made me feel like everything has come full circle. From my early days of fear, to my wondrous many years of joy with this boy - that I now happily share with all those who read my blog. Nowadays, I truly know how those moms on that board all those years ago felt. I often wished in my heart back then that I would feel this way, and I am happy to say that I do. I wouldn’t trade this little wise guy for anything in the world. I just didn’t know that in the beginning.

So today, as we were coming home from having a really fun, “normal” day, I just thought how I couldn’t wait to share it on my blog, because it was just a completely “normal” day. A day in the life of a family touched by Down Syndrome, a day just like any other family would have.