Most days...

Most people think that life with a child with Down syndrome would inevitably be so different than life with a typical child...and while I am not discounting that the future holds a lot of unknowns for our little family...I am also willing to say that maybe life really isn't all that different than it would have been other wise. In fact, most days, I honestly do not think about Down syndrome. Does it effect the way we live as a family? Sure, we deal with more doctors, therapists, early intervention programs...our children thrive on routines so routine becomes a part of our parenting style...but really, it has all become just another normal part of our lives.  Our therapists have become a part of our family, a part of a routine, they love Camden and advocate alongside us...our doctors are our families' life lines and we are thankful everyday that we live in a time where so many of the medical unknowns that we face have solutions.  We look at Camden everyday as our child, first and foremost...we do not see Down syndrome, we see our rambunctious toddler.  That does not mean that we do not recognize that Camden is different than other children his age...what it does mean is that he is an individual...he is his own person, with his own quirks, likes and dislikes...he is very much a child like any other...he just develops at his very own pace.  

In a lot of ways Camden's development has been a blessing...for instance I had an entire year of a somewhat non-mobile, cuddly baby who was content to love on his momma. We have had time as first time parents to watch every intricate step that the human body and brain take in development...we have enjoyed and were truly able to soak in that extra bit of baby in our child.  And we have loved it.  That doesn't mean that there weren't moments where the realities of Camden's slower development didn't hit home, and hit home hard...but it does mean that as his parents we have grown to appreciate Camden for who he is...and we are learning every day that every child is different, that every child is unique and we are appreciating more and more the blessing of a slower moving childhood.  Childhood is wondrous, exciting and magical...and as an adult I had forgotten how truly amazing it can be to be a child...Camden has taught me how to enjoy life a little bit more, he has taught me to appreciate better my own childhood, and he has taught me most of all that it should never be taken for granted...because it so quickly fades away.  

So it is true...most days I don't think about Down syndrome, most days I am just caught up in being the mother of a two year old...in trying to help Camden develop and grow while still reveling in the child that he is.