connecting the dots

I have been acting like a crazy woman lately stopping "strangers" in the street to introduce myself, my family and baby Owen. But we all have a common denominator because these "strangers" also have a family member with DS. At the newsagent I stopped mum Gale and her 28 year old (gorgeous) son James (who had just had highlights put through his hair) Gale took one look at Owen and just melted into familiarity and warmly swept him up for a cuddle. James was a little unsure of cuddling Owen (fair enough James those teeth are just as menacing as they look) it was wonderful to hear James talk about Masterchef, football, ten pin bowling, saving his money to buy a house and that he had just been to his Drama class. It was awesome to meet a family with an older son with DS, Gale had some sage words of advice about inclusion in school and we exchanged phone numbers. At Macca's on Saturday afternoon Col told me to turn around and look at a very cute little girl poking her head over the top of the booth seats and smiling at him - she had Down Syndrome too ! ( in our town Owen is the only child with DS under the age of 10 ! so seeing another young one with DS is a big deal to us. I turned around to look at her and then looked at her parents who were looking right at us. I did this little charade of acknowlegement and with big smiles crossed the room to talk and introduce ourselves. Glenn and Janeen had two of their daughters with them Tian is 3 and has recently been adopted and Olivia is 10, both are just beautiful, both have Down Syndrome. What a great family, full of laughter and hope and joy. Olivia is just inspirational - reading novels, writing, spelling, going to sleep overs and birthday parties and managing her Gluten Intolerance herself -by always checking with an adult if the food at a party is gluten free before eating it! WOW, she just blew me away but it was her beauty that rocked me. Tian is just a sweetheart, she is blossoming in this family. I left Maccas smiling like a lunatic because it is wonderful to be a part of the Down Syndrome family - I have longed for a sense of connection and community all my life - and it took the 47th chromosome to find it.
Thankyou Owey, you are my light, love you baby, MUM XXX