Gifts

I'm not gonna lie, ...I was terrified, ...the second those words came out of the Drs mouth the day after Blakey arrived " Your son shows classic signs of Down Syndrome."
Why us, I thought, ..we don't have this in either side of the family, we know nothing about this. I felt that I have failed my husband, my family and my son Chase. I was supposed to give them a perfect new baby boy, someone that can play ball, someone who will sing at the top of his lungs and make everyone laugh even though he sings off key, someone they will all come to see during his Christmas Pagents. I had failed and I didn't understand why this was happening to me... what did I do wrong ?
But what is perfect , ?
I know now that Babies with disabilities are not given to people as punishment, ..they are given to us as gifts. We are fortunate to have him exactly how he is , and how he is is exactly how he was meant to be in this world. This was not a series of unfortunate events for our family...we were hand picked out of this huge world to raise this beautiful baby boy. To watch him grow and to thrive in an environment full of love, companionship, family values and hope.
We are the lucky ones,
Blakey has a 100 % clean bill of health - his heart is perfect, as is his vision and hearing- he smiles all the time now, and his brother LOVES to hold him and feed him..and when Blakey smiles, he lights up the room. He continues to baffle doctors with his strength and his health. As of now, he only shows physical features of down syndrome...he has amazing strength and is absolutely on track with babies that do not have DS. Time will tell of the challenges this will bring him in the future...but we will tackle them head on together and with a willingness to learn all we have been missing out on before he made his debut.
In our travels through life, we discover that it doesn't matter where you land. What's more important is what you make of your journey and how you see and enjoy the very special things that your personalized life has to offer. Yes, about 3 months ago we landed in a place we hadn't planned. Yet we are thankful, for this destination has been richer than we could have ever imagined
Take your time buddy, ...we will not rush you - everything you do will be at your own pace , we are not in a hurry !
And for whoever does the choosin in life, Thank you for choosing us !