I'm so sorry

I get many different reactions when I tell people that my baby has Down Syndrome. (at some point I'm going to have to stop calling her a baby) There are those who awkwardly offer up a phrase like this one, "oh, okay. well see you later". Can't hold it against them, some people just really don't know anything about Down Syndrome and so they shy away from it. Then there are those that will light up at the mention of DS and want to know everything about anything! There are also those that I don't have to say anything to, they will just come right up to Kloey and tell her what a wonderful and beautiful person she is.

Then there are those that I want to shake. The people that offer up the "Oh! I'm so sorry!". I know, I know. Give them a break, they probably don't know any better, blah blah blah. I get that. But really? Why are you so sorry? What is there to be sorry about? Absolutely NOTHING! Nothing at all!

You may think that Kloey is and always will be a "burden" on her family. How very wrong you are. True enough she may never live on her own, but then again she very well could! The thing is... I don't want her to. I want her with me always! That is my blessing. I have a child that won't grow out of her mother. You should be jealous, not sorry.

You may also think that Kloey is/never will be a "normal" person, with normal relationships and normal feelings and normal anything. Let me tell you... She pulled her sister's hair today out of NORMAL frustration that all human beings feel. She also received a firm NO from me for it. Speaking of her sister, does that not sound like a "normal" relationship to you? Oh, it most certainly does to me.

She also knows how to play Jordan and myself like a couple of fiddles. She very "normally" pouts and whines until we turn on Sesame Street. She also throws her food on the floor every single night and refuses to eat until she gets a peanut butter sandwich (she'd settle for a cookie too but Mom isn't going for that!). Let's be honest, she's pretty "normal".

Kloey may not get married, honestly she probably won't. She probably won't go to college. She probably won't move out of our home. But really, she's going to be way ahead of the rest of us when we meet the end of our time here on earth. When you're around Kloey you can feel that she radiates love (unless peanut butter sandwiches or Sesame Street are in short supply). I have to throw Kourtney in here too, they are a pair destined for each other. They are typical sisters. She is a typical daughter. Jordan and I are typical parents. We live our lives and rejoice in her accomplishments and milestones achieved. We don't sit around and wallow in self pity because of one little extra chromosome. That extra chromosome has taught us so much in just the short space of two years, and I would change NONE of it!