Polly’s birthday, thoughts on celebrating with Down syndrome Her first birthday and my struggle with Down syndrome My daughter Polly’s first birthday was a great celebration. We had cake, and family, and friends, and ice cream, and pizza, and happiness. Lots of happiness. But we also had uncertainty, a bit of sadness, insecurity, uneasiness. Polly was born with Down syndrome, and on her first birthday, I still battled fear every day. What would life be
On motherhood and depression I have a nasty habit of tying my blog posts up with little white bows at the end. For some reason, I always feel like I need to show the struggle and the triumph in my writing, but really, who am I kidding? Most of the things we struggle with aren’t fully rendered by one touching anecdote or a favorite Bible verse. No, our struggles continue. We learn. We struggle. We
Tomorrow’s a ‘no’ day, a needed reminder in parenting kids with special needs “Have a great day, Polly! And remember, make it a ‘YES’ day!” She stopped in her tracks and pivoted to face me. “Ok, Mom, but tomorrow is going to be a ‘no’ day.” My husband and I tried to hold it together, as we do daily with the one liners easily crafted by our funny little girl. Once I shut the door behind
She grows, As Polly turns seven years old, her growth, and mine, astound me It’s a sunny Sunday afternoon. Evangeline swings in the adaptive swing while her Papa dutifully pushes her back and forth. Elaina and Zoya, with adult-like bodies but childlike hearts, swoop and slide on the monkey bars. I shadow Polly to make sure she doesn’t get hurt, to help her if she asks. An elevated Chicago train rumbles above us along the