Awareness

Somehow we have come to the end of another month. This month of October has been all about raising awareness of a subject near and dear to my heart. That awareness has to do with Down syndrome; that condition if you will that brings with it a little something extra. It’s that extra chromosome that changes everything.

Usually when we are given something extra we happily take it. Extra money; I’ll have that. Extra vacation days; I’ll take them. Extra smarts; where’s the line for that? But that extra chromosome is the one thing most people don’t sign up for. Sure those with the extra chromosome probably won’t become rocket scientists but I will tell you what those with that extra chromosome have. They have extra love. They have extra forgiveness and tolerance. They overlook my inadequacies and love unconditionally. They see the world as it should be seen for all the goodness that is in it. Do they have bad days? Do they disagree with their siblings? Do they misbehave? Yes to all but who doesn’t.

Yes I have two grandchildren with Down syndrome. They each have amazingly unique personalities. Just like my other non-extra chromosome carrying grandchildren. And at the end of the day I love each and every one of them for their goodness and what they teach me about this journey we call life.