31 for 21

Well, this is the end of the road for 31 for 21. I don't know if what I had to say this month had any effect on anyone, but it was fun to post every day. Back that up. I didn't post every day, but I did end up with more the 31 posts for the month. That counts doesn't it? I don't have a child with Down's Syndrome, but by sister has 2. I have learned so much about DS as I have tried (I hope) to help her. When William was born, we were all so shocked. Here they were first baby, my sister was only 23. It just wasn't something anyone expected. But they moved forward and the rest of us tried our best to help and support. He is a crazy boy, that Buck! We love him and my kids don't know that he is different. To them, he is William. When Mary was born, there were so many other complications with Kimberly, that I think the fact that Mary had DS wasn't really... I don't know. The other things seemed bigger then that, at least in my eyes. In the days following her birth, I searched for ways to help them. Things were different now, 2 kids was DS was so much bigger. I looked for support groups and blogs, anything that would offer support. We are a very close family, but this wasn't something that we could help with, not enough anyway. You always hear that having a child with DS is such a gift, but I don't think that's what they wanted to hear at the time. They knew that, but having 2 just makes everything different. How was it going to effect Ruth? She won't ever know the difference and will be better for it. Kids are kids, they just need to be loved and taken care of. I feel connected to people, that I don't even know, when I see they have a child with DS. I talk to them, not something I would have done before, and tell them about my sweet nephew and niece. They have been blessed with health and very few, what appear to be, minor complications. They have been a gift to our family and we have all been blessed because of them. I wish that we all lived closer, so that the cousins could play together. Aside from G&B, none of us live near cousins. Growing up we didn't either, but we weren't as close in age as all of our kids are. Once we started having babies, we went a little crazy! lol! The oldest is 5 1/2, the youngest is 2 months today and there are (I have to stop and think about this) 9 in between them! They love to play together, although they haven't been all together for over a year now. Hopefully blogging will keep us involved in each others lives. Knowing the in's and out's of each others days, offering words of encouragement and support when needed. That is what 31 for 21 has been for me.