The more we learn the better we become

Dear readers,

Today marks the end of Down syndrome awareness month 2018. As I have written before, it’s not just one month that matters but what we do every single day. Talk to your kids, talk to families with babies that have Down syndrome, talk to adults that have Down syndrome. We welcome the opportunity to educate and also get educated. Here are pictures for each day of October to highlight some misconceptions and some concepts that need to be highlighted.  Share with your loved ones and help create a more inclusive and more kind world.

                                     

                                    

 

                                      

   

             

I feel that people with Down syndrome were sent from above to help all of us become better people, andwould like to thank you all for the support you have given us and the love you have showered on Laksh. We are extremely grateful to be on this journey with Laksh and because of him, learn a new kind way to be a member of the society. So thank you for the understanding and sorry about spamming your timeline for the past one month. Please continue to be just as awesome as guys have been to us and everyone around you. Happy Halloween 🎃

21 things I am grateful for this Thanksgiving

In this busy life, it is easy to forget what things we have going for us and keep focusing on things that are not. For instance, focusing on not getting the promotion you were gunning for and forgetting to be grateful for having a job. Getting upset over not being able to get that branded bag but forgetting to be grateful for the other bags you already have. Crying over baby having diagnosed with down syndrome at birth instead of being grateful for this tiny miracle you created.(see what I did there 👶❤)

I know this blog is not completely from Laksh's point of view or even fully about him like it usually is, but I needed to put this in writing for him to see when he grows up. It being thanksgiving weekend, I decided to come up with reasons 21 that I am thankful/grateful for this life that God gave us. (21 has become my most favorite number recently, oh & also, it is my birth date)

1. We have Laksh and he has us
2. We have a roof over our heads
3. We have food in our bellies
4. We have love in our house
5. We have people that care about us
6. Laksh has both sets of grand parents
7. Laksh has two older sisters (cousins but closer than the real deal), aunts and uncles
8. Laksh has a fur brother
9. We are healthy
10. We have an amazing online DS community, our extended family
11. We have jobs so we can provide for our baby
12. We have access to great medical care
13. We became parents
14. We saw his first smile
15. We heard his first cry
16. We celebrated his first Rakhsha Bandhan
17. We celebrated his first Diwali
18. We celebrated his first Bhai Dhuj
19. We celebrated his first Halloween 
20. We celebrated his first thanksgving
21. And last but not least, we will have the rest of our lives to see his many firsts and seconds and more.

Never forget to be kind to others as kindness is all that matters. Happy Thanksgiving from our family to yours.

Are we doing things that bring us joy?

I was just reading Kelle Hampton's blog about Krista who is her intern who happens to have down syndrome. (http://kellehampton.com/blog) The things that Krista is learning in college make me feel both good and a little sad. I had dreams about my Laksh being able to achieve get success and sometimes realizing that he might have to learn skills to be able to live independently that usually comes naturally to most people is a little disheartening. That being said, some years ago, people with DS were institutionalized so this is definitely a move in the right direction.

Anyway, reading her blog, I stumbled upon the entry from today and realized "worrying about things beyond our control" is not something that only I am inflicted with. But her friend did ask a very important question, " Are we doing things that bring us joy?' When I tried answering this question, I realized my answer is no for the most part. We are in that phase of life, where Hubby and I are struggling between trying to make a decent living so we can provide for our baby. In this day to day struggle, we are forgetting to take a minute to enjoy the small things (yes yes I am a fan).

Most of the times, we are just running through the motions and not actually living life. I sometimes see how my friends are managing to travel (a passion of mine) but I am not even able to go to the movies. I want to do so much and yet somehow I end up doing nothing. All I am doing is, going to work and managing to be able to find time to spend with my son. I hate that I don't have the freedom to be able to take time off work or just take a little sabbatical.

I am now deciding that we will do one fun thing every day. It does not matter how grand or how simple that thing is, but we will do it. It does not matter if anyone wants to join us or not but we will do it. As a family, we will do things that bring us joy because that is what life is made up of. Small moments of joy. Good night readers.





















                                                    🎃 Happy Halloween 🎃