31 for 21: Not All Rainbows

Some say that moms of children with Down syndrome glamorize or sensationalize our children's disabilities.  That we sing their praises louder to mask the truth.  To lead others to believe life is greater than it is.

Do I believe this is true?  Nope.  I've always been 100% honest when speaking about Hailey having Down syndrome.  I know life isn't always rainbows and unicorns.  Trust me...my daughter has already endured more in her short life than I have in 30+ years.  She has been poked, prodded and examined more than the other 4 of us and she is only 20 months old.  Watching her get blood drawn physically hurts me...they can never find her vein and we have had to give up before and try a different day because I refuse for her to be poked more than 4 times!  She has been under anesthesia more times than all of us combined.  What she has endured would make most adults whine!  I could go on and on and complain and whine, but what good would it do?  All of that stuff pales in comparison to the joy and love this little girl bring into our life.

Some things in life, just are.  You can't change them.  You can't fix them.  You can't control them.  I can't will Hailey to walk.  I can't control how long it will take her to learn things.  Then again, I can't control which sight words Ian learns.  I can't will Brayden to increase his reading comprehension.  I can't control if Brayden scores a goal in soccer or when Ian will learn to ride a bike without training wheels.  We can't control how long it will take Hailey to learn her ABCs or how to jump.

What we can do is what we have been doing for the past 20 months.  We take one day at a time.  We thank God for our children and their health.  We are thankful for our family, friends and our wonderful support system.  No, life isn't perfect.  It isn't all rainbows and unicorns, but it isn't bad and it could definitely be a lot worse.  Actually, life is better than I could have ever imagined.

How could you look at this little girl and complain about anything?  She's strong, nosy, beautiful, funny and smart!  I look at this little girl and her brothers and wonder what on earth did I do to ever get so lucky!