31 for 21, Day 24: The News is Good

Welp. Clearly I've failed at ye olde "31 for 21" this year. It was a nice thought, but it was not to be. There was a time when I could blog every day and this is just NOT that time.

But I've enjoyed the abundance of Down syndrome articles friends have shared in the last few weeks (courtesy of Down syndrome Awareness Month). There's so much good information now. So much positivity and hope. So much that wasn't there on that insufferably hot, humid day more than eleven years ago in the delivery room, when a doctor I'd never met gruffly muttered, "Well, we think he has Down syndrome."

This week, some of that good information came in the form of a podcast. I've started listening to them again, after an unintentional hiatus. I used to enjoy them when I was commuting (a hot coffee, a seat by a steamy window, a voice whispering eloquent writing or dialogue into your ear? THE BEST). Now my commute is two minutes long, the time it takes for me to drive home from dropping Ellie at school, walk to the kitchen table and pull out my laptop. So I've had to get a little more creative about finding the time to listen.

But check this one out. Writer and comedian Bethany Van Delft says, of her realization about her early days of having a baby with Down syndrome:

"Once I stopped fearing...I realized all moms cry a lot. All moms doubt their ability to raise this child. All moms worry about the future. I used to wish I could go back in time and get that test after all, but now I wish I could could go back in time to allow myself to feel the joy that a new mother feels, because that's what I was."


I've started listening to podcasts while running (the only time in my life when things are "quiet"). I turn the volume WAY up so I can't hear my pathetic gasps for air. Recommend!

Then came this story, about a new program in which young people with Down syndrome write "Congratulation" letters to new parents of babies with Down syndrome. Now, "Congratulations!" is not a word I remember hearing much (ever?) at the hospital when Leo was born. Luckily, I think the world has changed a bit since then, but this campaign is still amazing and much-needed. An excerpt from my favorite letter:

"PS. This baby is going to be the best thing that ever happens to you."


Leo, 18 months. 

Yes.