Being Up With Down Syndrome

The title is how I feel.  The reality is that Dan is my cousin.  Our Dads were/are brothers.  Both men now in Heaven.  I am five years younger than Dan.  It doesn't matter now, but back in the day I was the little cousin.  He is so so funny.  He has THE best sense of humor and one liners ever.  I always felt a special place in my heart for him.  What changed our relationship was love.  We always loved each other but it was by jokes and so much joyful laughter.  Then I was almost killed in a car accident when I was 20.  It shook him.  He wrote me a wonderful poem/card about how everyone and how he felt.  Through my life, he was always there, somewhere...  I depended on this.  When my Dad died he was a big part of my strength.  I suffered greatly from depression that first year.  He was "around".  Then Dan's Dad got sick with Cancer.  I loved my Uncle Tom and needed to be there.  By there, I needed to help some way.  In the end, it helped me.  It concreted my Catholic f

Today I realized something amazing has happened. I found peace. Every weekday morning Kate happily gets out of bed EXCITED to go to school. She loves it so much and so do we. When we walk into school in the morning she can barely contain herself, waiting for her teacher to come and take her to class. She smiles bigley! For the first time since I was pregnant with her I am not worried about her. We see her changing so much! She is calmer. She is more engaged. She is listening to directions and she is so loving. To not worry about Kate is so new and so peaceful. The teachers and all the workers are so kind and caring. We knew this school was a perfect fit. Trinity and I witnessed a very stressful event with a child in the parking lot, one morning. The school was so on top of it and expertly handled the incident professionally and lovingly. To work full-time with special needs children, you need a loving heart. That is all I see. I see parents that want so much for their