More Aware...

Silly-goofy as Max would say…how events come together…while walking into Safeway the other day I was carrying Maddox…she is very interested in her surroundings...loves seeing faces and places…we are not in the door 2 seconds when a women comments….oooh what a cute baby…how old…I say 4 almost 5 months…but she is to small she says….oh shut up I thought….then no 2 minutes later...the pharmacists says how many WEEKS is your baby? I said she is 4 almost 5 months…the confused look in her face was priceless…then she says all preemies are small like that…I thought to myself…Maddox was not a preemie she was a big girl! But I let her think what she wanted…then when I was checking out the cashier asked me if I would like to donate money to breast cancer awareness month...while watching the today show I see t-shirts and signs with what October month means to so many people...but the sign I see lacking is the Down Syndrome Awareness month…I guess this is why people keep on asking me questions about Maddies stature…not enough information is out there…or people are just stupid because I am SHORT!! But that is besides the point…for most of my life I have worked for a non-profit organization...and one of the first things I learned is to get out and SPEAK…to anyone you can…one person told me that if a stranger cannot stop at a local convenient store and ask and get directions to your local club…then you have not done your job…while watching Oprah the other day a women in a tragic situation of losing her parents is now taking care of her siblings…a couple of them were born with Downs Syndrome…she said something’s that would scare a pregnant women sitting on the couch having a child with Down Syndrome…she said that a child with Down Syndrome cannot understand what we understand…they can not process it…this hit me…because people with Down Syndrome…can understand, can think, can process…remember it is just different…but there is no reason we should treat a person with Down Syndrome different…I think she or even Oprah would have known better…if only we had more information out there…I am a newbie to having a child with Down Syndrome…but I have realized fast that people want to understand Maddox…they want to know what makes her tick…they want to now her difference and her similarities…so I think that it is a great opportunity to show and teach people…how unique she is and how similar she is to there child…I am stumbling through this process…but I know if we can get more correct information out to people…that women sitting on the couch pregnant with a person with Down Syndrome will not be as scared…as what life has to hold for them and there family…I fully expect my Maddox to sit, walk, talk, play independently, parallel play, eat independently, run, jump, go to school, make friends, laugh, love, get a job, DRIVE a car, and live on her own if she chooses…I can even dream that maybe just maybe she will choose to marry who she loves….Wow she sounds just like your “Normal” child…information awareness ROCKS!