That's Life

It has been a while since I've sat down to write.....I sort of took the summer off, from everything!  (Well, except for laundry, unfortunately.  Gosh that'd be nice though, wouldn't it?)  With the exception of the library's Summer Reading Club, and the two older boys playing baseball for our community league (on the same team!  bonus!!), I made a point to sign the kids up for, well, nothing!  No camps.  No clinics.  No classes.  NOthing.  And while perhaps I damaged their chances of making a team, or becoming a world-class athlete, actress, dancer, or artist, I suspect they'll be okay.  We needed it.  We needed the calm.  Most days, our biggest decision was whether to swim at the pool or the lake.  We made our own fun. We had a great family vacation, and Matt and I even escaped for a weekend without kids.  All in all it was a good summer, much different from the dark days of last summer, when I was not only mourning my mom, but the daughter I thought we were having......This summer was about life.

Now, 3.5 kids are back to school (by 3.5 I mean 3 go full time, 1 half-day) and we are back to the routine (still including laundry), and I'm ready to get back to writing.  Annie continues to do well, and I will update you on all of her progress soon!  But first, I want to dive a little deeper into that very subject of life.

 These two "Crazy" (adorable) kiddos are wondering where all the noise went??

So fellow Mamas: Have you ever noticed that while you're pregnant, it seems like everyone around you is pregnant? You notice new and expectant mothers everywhere, because you are one of them.  You now have a stake in the game.

And so it goes when you have a child with a disability.  People I never noticed before, or once shied away from out of fear and ignorance, I now see and understand.  Articles I may have scrolled past on social media sites, now beg to be read.  Ready or not, I have been immersed into a whole new world.

And if I expect Annie to be immersed in the world of her "typical" family and peers, I need to likewise make myself a part of hers; the good, the bad and the ugly.....

There is so much good happening for people with DS these days, and it gives me such hope for Annie!  These children and adults are soaring in ways that were once thought impossible.  One boy has opened his own restaurant!  I'd love to eat here someday!  (http://timsplaceabq.com/about-tim) One woman, Karen Gaffney, is the first person with Down Syndrome to receive an honorary doctorate, and she swam the English Channel on more than one occasion. (http://www.karengaffneyfoundation.com/)

But there's an ugly truth about Down Syndrome too.  I've said it in previous posts and I'll say it again: 90% of mothers who learn of the diagnosis while pregnant, choose to abort the child.  9 out of 10 people believe it's better for the child not to be born!  There is a whole population of "Annie's" who have never been given a chance at life!

"No one wants a disabled child!"
(http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/australiaandthepacific/australia/11024890/Australian-couple-say-they-would-have-preferred-to-abort-Baby-Gammy.html)

"It's immoral not to abort babies with Down Syndrome."
(http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/breaking-richard-dawkins-choosing-not-to-abort-baby-with-down-syndrome-is-i)

"I don't want MY child in a classroom with those kind of kids!" (likely happens in a school near you....)

I have always considered myself pro-life. I firmly believe that every life is sacred and willed by God.  I've traveled to Washington D.C for the March for Life, and I've stood outside a local abortion clinic in peaceful prayer.  I could never understand why a mother wouldn't want her child, nor could I comprehend over 50 million souls, gone.  But the problem often seems too overwhelming to ever be solved by the likes of me.  I am, afterall, just one body in a sea of people.  What difference does it make if I am there or not?  And while standing there among like-minded people may seem easy, taking a stand is not always comfortable.  I have often grown complacent.  What if my views offend someone I care about?  I didn't ever really have a stake in the game.  It wasn't personal.

But now, it is.

Because of Annie, this fight has become very personal.  It's about 50 million souls, and it's about 1 soul.  Because of Annie, I now understand the fear of a pregnancy that didn't go as planned.  Because of Annie, I know what it feels like to doubt that you have what it takes to raise a child.  I mourned the child I thought we were having.  I cried and drew inward.  I shook my fist in anger and raged,

"I don't want to do this!!!!"

But now...  Now I look into this stunning face every day, with her infectious smile, and wonder:

"What was I so afraid of?"

"Why did I beg God to choose someone else for this child?"

 

"Why did I think I was in this all alone?" 

 

And every day I look deep into those almond-shaped eyes and wonder,
"How did we get here? 
How did we get to a point that there are people who actually believe children like mine are better off dead?"

 

Father, forgive us, for we know not what we do.........

If you feel the pro-life issue is irrelevant in your life, or if, like me, you feel your voice doesn't really make a difference, or if you simply feel it's not your place to interfere, I urge you to step off of the sidelines and get in the game.  Make it personal.  Make it about one life that has touched you.  Learn the stories, the good ones and the ugly ones, and read them as though they're written solely about someone you love.  Imagine if someone believed your child wasn't worthy of life; that their life wasn't of value.  Who gets to decide that?  Why has life become such a polarizing, divisive issue?   

And don't ever underestimate the power you have to move, change or soften someone's heart.  If you know of someone struggling with an unwanted pregnancy, or who has been given a devastating diagnosis, be there.  Listen.  Pray.  Love.   I cannot even begin to express how much of an impact the love and support of others has had on our journey.  From the moment we learned the news last August, people began praying for and loving Annie, even when I found it difficult.  They carried her.  They carried me. 

“The fight for the right to life is not the cause of a special few, but the cause of every man, woman and child who cares not only about his or her own family, but the whole family of man.” – Dr. Mildred Jefferson

Because of Annie, I have had to surrender all of my fears and misunderstandings to God, almost on a daily basis.  He is, after all, the one who knit her together before she was born.  She is His creation, and He alone will take her and make perfection where we only see imperfections.  I witness this every. single. day.  And that, my friends, has been a game changer for me.

Ready or not, the Coach needs you in the game too.....Someone's life depends on it! 

Pray,
Speak,
Read,
Tweet,
Share,
Post,
Like,
Live
LIFE...with all of its perfect imperfections!