Being Up With Down Syndrome

Walter Sutcavage died last night.  He was 92.  I just recently ran into him while he was at dinner with his daughter Suann.  He didn't remember me.  He had Alzheimer's.  I remembered him.  I will always remember Walter. Walter was my good friend Paul's Dad.  Paul died tragically.   Paul Sutcavage was a corporal for the United States Marine Corps. On September 06, 1987, he died in a car accident at the age of 22.  I remember getting the phone call and screaming in pain.  Not Paul....  Paul had a fantastic sense of humor and we were true friends.  His mother Helen and his father Walter became my family.  Many evenings I spent on their front porch remembering Paul and sharing news of the town.  Walter would get me a beer or more!  We really enjoyed each other.  I always loved them.  Marriage and children changed everything.  They retired to Florida in the winters and we lost touch, except for rare occasions, such as my Dad's funeral and the day my Uncle Tom died.  Walter

I haven't written for a while because honestly, I was busy staying in God's presence as much as possible.  I have a friend that blogs,  Kara Tippett .  Through her blog, Mundane Faithfulness and her book  The Hardest Peace , I have walked with her through her journey.  She IS walking with Jesus.  She is the mom of four children and a wife to Jason.  She is dying.  I am praying for all. It changed me.  No one likes "drama" and drama chases me.  Unhappy people, rude people, selfish people, mean people, competitive people, abusive people, lonely people, sad people, and mostly the kind of people I have to care about at a distance in order to keep focused on my family.  In all the chaos we are learning to shut the door on the outside world and love our time with one another.  Sharing movies, praying the family rosary, laughing at the things in our day and just cherishing the moments.  Looly is thriving, not with special attention but with special love that each person ha