Mother Hen

I started reading a wonderful book this week.  It is a collection of stories by mothers of children with Down syndrome and how their children enrich their lives.  I found this and it actually brought tears to my eyes.

Life is so generous a giver,

but we, judging its gifts

by their covering, 

cast them away as ugly

or heavy or hard.

Remove the covering 

and you will find beneath it

a living splendor,

woven by love,

with power.

~ Fra Giovanni

Hailey having Down syndrome has opened a world of fears and emotions that I never knew existed.  I worry what her life will be like as she gets older.  I wonder how hard she will have to work to learn things that come easy to the boys.  Yes, I worry about all of my children but with Hailey is different.  With the boys, I worry about their future but I don't worry as much how others will perceive them.  I worry how people will judge Hailey based on how she looks and how she is developmentally (things that she can never control).  I'm afraid that people won't get to know her...they won't see what is under the surface.  

Oh, there I go again....looking too far forward!  We have today.  We will thank God for today and take the tomorrows as they come.