When we walked up to the registration table Megan saw another little girl with Down syndrome and immediately gave her a big hug. It was so absolutely sweet and unexpected! She sees that she is looking into a mirror of sorts and she enjoys that. I have always believed that it is very easy for me to love every child with Down syndrome since they all look just enough like my own daughter that I feel a kinship with them. I saw today that she feels the same.
Megan's autism got the best of us after a while and she just couldn't take anymore, but at least we got through the walk and got to be a part of something bigger than ourselves. It seems that the money is going to offer great services for our families, free workshops, at least two monthly support groups for parents, and quarterly dances for those 12 and over with any kind of disability. The dances may sound like no big deal, but I took my daughters to the last one, and it was such a great chance for them to practice being in a typical social situation without all the usual pressure. That's what is so great about these kinds of events - the lack of pressure to do everything right. They are separated by their disability already, so it's important for them to have a chance to practice and feel safe in making some mistakes. It's also great for us parents to be able to sit on the sidelines and see if they are really ready for the social events at school that we aren't sure about.
I used to feel uncomfortable asking friends and family to support these groups but I'm starting to feel more comfortable with it now. We can't do everything for our kids, but with support and encouragement like the kind this group offers we can offer our kids a better life and we can offer our parents a way to make that happen since none of us can do it alone.
Just one final word, our walk was done in memory of James Bond Jennings. He was a young man in the group who died last year of pneumonia. He had lost his mother to cancer just a few years before. She was one of the founding moms of our little group and his dad, Grady, built his business around making sure kids like ours have a means of support after we parents are gone through Special Needs Trusts. This is quite a family. Grady with others put together a golf tournament to benefit the group in memory of his wife and son. James' friends each shared something that they loved/miss about James and let go a balloon as they shared. It was absolutely touching and brings a tear to my eyes even now. I know whenever I see a blue balloon in the future I will think of James Jennings and how much his friends loved him.
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