Down syndrome Awareness Month - 1

It's October again, and I'm blogging to raise awareness for Down syndrome.  This year, I'm gonna share a lot of feelings and about some of the challenges and triumphs that we've had on the journey with Aubrey.  It has been a year of GROWTH for me as her mom, but especially for this beautiful girl.

I would guess that you already realize that life with 5 kids keeps me super busy....since there have been ZERO posts in 11 months!  But it is more than that.  Life with Aubrey is busy.  I think that for the longest time, admitting that Aubrey's life added "work" and "challenges" and "hardness" to my life, meant that I was telling people that Down syndrome is a lot of work or that I was admitting failure as a mom.  I'm admitting that having a child with Down syndrome is first of all, so AMAZING, but I'm admitting that her life is a lot of work.  But hard work reaps great benefits and I would do anything for this girl, so that she can be the best at whatever she does.

I have had to work through mentally, what is hard and it isn't the Down syndrome.  It is everything all at once, that gets overwhelming sometimes.  Lots of kids out there have learning disabilities and physical disabilities and heart defects and hearing impairments and lung disease and everything else.  Aubrey just happens to have all of that and when appointments and challenges collide and pile up on us....then it does get challenging and hard and it is a lot of work to keep it all organized and under control.  And it gets overwhelming.  But that isn't Down syndrome, that is just life with children, and the love for them to do more and anything for them.

I find my heart going out to parents who have children with these challenges, that aren't so "visible" to the outside world.  The world can be so cruel.  I feel like when people see Aubrey and they know she has Down syndrome, they exhibit such patience and kindness.  I KNOW that isn't always the case for kids with learning disabilities, when you don't visibly SEE the disability.  We have been blessed to be surrounded by kindness and love.

I feel BLESSED to be her mom, so much more often than I feel down about the "stuff".  I'm blessed to be the mom of ALL 5 of these beautiful girls, with all of their challenges and triumphs.  But this month especially, I'm sharing how blessed I am to be Aubrey's mom and that she is so compliant and go with the flow.  She takes it all in stride.  Nothing bothers her much (except the dentist) and she smiles through it all.  So yes, she comes with a very long list of doctors/specialist and instructions, but in the end, this smile and her love and excitement for life wash all of that away.  She is my Aubrey and I love that girl so much!  We are all better for having her in our lives.