Raising Awareness One Blog At A Time

October is a crazy busy month. There are some very important things happening in October, like leaves coloring, and Halloween, and National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. There are a lot of bloggers out there supporting and promoting breast cancer awareness, and it's a wonderful thing. I love those bloggers for doing that. Even the ones that I don't know.

Something that you may not know about the crazy busy month of October is that it is also National Down Syndrome Awareness Month. I think it's obvious why this is a big deal to me. Sadly, it's nearly mid-month and I am just now making mention of this fact. (See the crazy busy part I've mentioned.)

So what does this mean to you and me? Nothing really. For me, it means that I will look at my son daily and know that we are living a completely different life than what we thought we would when I was pregnant with our 4th child 8 years ago. You know, just like every single day since Micah's birth. Nothing different. For you, it means that I will post every day in October. The only difference is the addition of Sundays, and because that's typically my day off, you get a picture. See? No different.

Except.

Except.

Every now and then I will feel the need to tell you what living with Down syndrome means. Sometimes I will share the fact that it's hard, and unexpected, and frustrating. Often I will share what it is to experience joy like I never knew before, because being touched by someone who has absolutely no guile and is bubbling over with love for life is infectious.

But then again, I do that on a regular basis anyway. I think this blog has been a supporter of National Down Syndrome Month from the beginning. I just fail to recognize the beginning and ending of the month of October, because when you live with someone with a disability it's not for a season. It's for a lifetime.

I wouldn't have it any other way.

I've said it before, and it's worth repeating. Micah is not what we had planned, but he's exactly what we wanted. We thank God daily for blessing us with Downs. We simply cannot imagine what life would be like without our spot of sunshine.

Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but when the desire comes it is a tree of life. Proverbs 13:12

That's my boy. While we were heartsick over his diagnosis, he has become a tree of life to our entire family.

Lord, we never thought to ask for Downs, but we're so grateful that You've chosen to bless us anyway. Micah is so much more than we had in mind when we thought we lost our fourth child to a disability. We are so undeserving of your mercies.