My dear friend, Kecia Cox (@lovemakesmiracles_), once wisely told me that extra chromosomes come with extra tear ducts and I can confirm that this is true 🥲💛 As the mother of a child with Down syndrome, I find tears in my eyes so much more often than ever I used to. Today at church was one of those times, and it snuck up on me like it often does. I was watching Lydia and her little class spend time in Primary. We’ve had her in a nursery setting where toddlers play with toys, but she’ll be transitioning to a classroom & singing time setting called Primary at the start of the year, and to help the kids transition they are taking them in for a few minutes each week. I was in there when they brought in Lydie’s class this week and got to see how she did. As a mother I know all her weaknesses… her unease around loud noises; her inability to sit in a chair & pay attention to an instructor; her struggles with social interactions. I worry about how these transitions will go. So I sat in the back of the room nervously watching… And what I saw floored me. It shouldn’t have, but it did. She sat with her aide who patiently & lovingly helped her participate in age-appropriate activities geared to keep children of any ability engaged. I watched leaders interact with her. I watched this sweet peer of hers who has persistently tried to be Lydia’s friend sit by her. And I watched Lydie. She covered her ears for about two seconds as she does when she gets overstimulated, but rather than stay in her hunched over, defensive stance, she sat up, joined the activities, and engaged. She demonstrated curiosity. She appropriately used the props. She grinned from ear to ear. She marched around the room. Out of order but they went with it 😊 She let her little light SHINE. Yeah, I lost it. Because when you live for nearly 5 years in quarantine with your disabled daughter, you THINK inclusion, and you SPEAK inclusion, and you DREAM inclusion, but you don’t very often get to actually LIVE it. But today we did. Religion can sometimes be messy, but as I listened today to songs about Jesus and as I watched others love a special needs daughter like Jesus would I thought: THIS is my religion.💛
