Did you ever stop to wonder why me?  I did several times, was it something I did, or something that I didn’t do during my pregnancy.  This was exactly how I felt before I delivered my beautiful baby boy.  Was I being punished from god for all the mistakes that I had made in my life?  Did God hate me for not going to church?  The answer to all of these questions was NO!  It took me a lot of soul searching and quite times to make me realize that I wasn’t being punished, I was being blessed with a gift.  The BEST gift that anyone could ever receive in a life time.  My gift was my son Kaden, a tiny blue-eyed baby boy that was born with down syndrome.  He is perfect!  I loved him from the moment that I felt his first kick inside of me.  That first movement bonded me forever.  I knew he was going to be a fighter, a trusting and loving human being.  It didn’t matter to me that he was going to be born with challenges.  Everyone has challenges in their life, it’s all about dealing and accepting those challenges.

I will admit, I was scared before he was born.  Not scared of him, but how our society accepts people in general.   The thought of being stared at or the whispers that would be over heard bothered me.  Why?  Because I didn’t accept those challenges.  I didn’t want to stand out in a crowd.  Guess what?  I want to stand out in a crowd now I want everyone to know that my son has down syndrome. I want to educate people about down syndrome.  I’m proud that my son was born with down syndrome!!  

I want share an experience that I recently had.  I went to mall shopping, as I was sitting down to eat lunch I noticed a little girl and her mother sitting over in the corner table.  As I was eating, I was watching this little girl who appeared to be about 7 years old.  I wasn’t meaning to stare at her and I knew her mother was getting an uneasy feeling, but I couldn’t help myself.  She was laughing and talking and making funny faces and just being a typical 7 year old.   I’d smile and her mother would give me a funny look.  I couldn’t stand it anymore, I didn’t want her to think I was being rude.  I got up and pushed my stroller over to her table.  I introduced myself and baby Kaden.  I apologized for watching her daughter.  I then explained to her that my son was born with down syndrome.  I was being curious to see what I had to look forward too when my son reached that age.  We talked for a few moments and before I left, she handed me her phone number. She told me that there was a group of moms that had down syndrome children and that they formed a group that met on a weekly basis.  She invited me to join.

I no longer question myself, I know that my son was given to me for one reason.  He needed me.  It’s that simple.