Being Up With Down Syndrome

There is no anniversary, birthday or any other reminder, I just miss my Dad.  My Dad.  I could write for days about my Dad.  He was the very first man I fell in love with.  He was handsome, he was kind and he worked harder than most.   When I was little, 3 to 5, he would put me in the car and we would travel!  To the Post Office, Bank and THEN somewhere for food.  He would hold my little hand and introduce me as his girlfriend.  Out of everything I remember about my Dad, it is his hands.  How he held mine, how he typed, how he held a cup, and how he danced holding my Mom's hand.  I loved everything about this man.  Even when he got mad...I reflect with humor.  He NEVER swore.  If he slipped a swear word we all ran for cover. He took me to my very first day to school.  I didn't go to Kindergarten.  I was told it was because I was too smart for that.  Later when I was torturing my siblings with my intelligence...

Today I read about a high school sophomore with developmental disabilities being bullied.   Article  He decided to tape, with his school issued iPad, what was happening to him so he could let his mom know first hand the amount of bullying going on. The writer of this article described him as a "tormented special-needs student".  He was regularly shoved, tripped and almost burned.  So he taped it and took it home to his mother.  She proceeded to submit the evidence to the schools principal.  Here is the great part...the principal and administration decided to call the police and threatened the special-needs child with felony wiretapping.  It was later reduced to disorderly conduct and he was found guilty on March 19. First, shockingly this is South Fayette High School.  Very near to me.  My two nieces attend there and some friends children too.  Second, I was getting invitations for special dances held at this school for special ...

If you choose to put God in a neat little box, then put the box on a shelf in the closet, only getting it out every once in a while.  Maybe a Sunday, maybe not.  Your life will start to unravel.   At first, you give every excuse not to go to Church.  You had to work, you were too tired, you had a hangnail.  Your life will unravel. Then you blame your past.  Too much guilt, no one understands my pain, I am an adult and make these decisions on when I need God.  Your life will unravel. Next, your life isn't turning out how you planned.  You were going to have success in business, a great marriage and perfect children...it didn't go that way...it's Gods fault.  Your life will unravel. You one day turn around and compare yourself and measure yourself against those close to you.  Why are they happy?  Why is it that when awful things happen to others, they seem to handle it and even laugh through their tears?  Why is it they are happy...

These past two weeks have been very rough.  If you read any of my posts, I wanted Lent to bring me to peace.  We had a huge scare that Kate possibly had a cancer mass in her brain.  No, she doesn't.  It was two terrifying days and in the end she has some differences in her eyes from having Down Syndrome.  My husband, BJ and I wept in relief. Being in the hospital exposed her to a stomach flu.  It progressed through the other kids in the family.  I HATE illness.  I can deal with a lot but illness in my children sends me right over the edge of worry.  I rely on doctors, but I don't trust them.  There is a whole new world of genius doctors out there, saving lives.  There are also a whole lot that can't think outside of the box, or for that matter their wallets.  We have encircled ourselves with doctors who we trust, but one particular Neurosurgeon at Children's was not it.  She was invasive, harsh and looking at Kate as a D...

I knew a woman who got pregnant.  The "Father" refused to marry her.  She had a son...his son.  He married another and left his Catholic Faith.  He became "born again".  He was baptized again.  He pounded on his bible and on his family.  He said Catholics aren't Christian.  They worship idols.  He attacked and attacked.  He became obsessed to the point that his religion was based on hatred.  Hatred that he could NOT convince even the weakest Catholic to switch sides.  He sinned.  Some of the biggest sins.  He had no where to turn.  He had all the sacraments of the Holy Catholic Church.  He could walk into a confessional at any time.  But pride, ego, ego, pride, stop him.   The worst part of this prideful story is the undermining of the mother of his son.  She brought him up Catholic. This story is probably a very common story.  It interests me because when we are at a crossroads, what d...

As soon as I said that my goal this Lent was to find an inner peace by Easter Sunday, my world turned very stressful. My siblings and I planned an 80th birthday party for my Mom.  Since I was a small child, I love birthdays...expecially mine!  Age is just a number, right?  Anyway, we had her party at a great Irish Pub called Riley's Pour House Website  in Carnegie, PA.  I love this pub! I love the owner Jim Riley because he has a great sense of humor and is very kind.  I still think that if you own an Irish Pub then you should be able to play the Bagpipes, right Jim Riley?  If your searching for an Irish Pub with great food and entertainment, not to mention the crowd of great people, then definitely stop at Riley's! The party was packed at noon, on a Sunday, during a snow storm.  That is how our family rules.  Half a foot of snow?  Who cares!  My Mom thought she was having lunch with her children and grandchildren.  It...

Time and again I am reading or hearing conversations about how things work.  Who is good and who is bad.  Who should be included and who should be shunned.  Do you think I have EVER been part of this or have judged as such?  Of course, we all have at some point. Then it happened, my eyes were opened.  There were some people, that were by far, the most judgmental, inclusive, egotistical bunch of hypocrites ever to be encountered.  Yes, naive was I.  Blind had I been.  Delusional? Certainly.  Shocked is an understatement. What was the most shocking was the cruelty and rudeness.  The very ones pointing and accusing others of horrendous acts, were themselves the biggest culprits.  The very ones that were going to judge and disperse unkindnesses, were the ones looked up to.  Humility was a word said over and over, but with nothing whatsoever to show for it.  The amount of self absorbed, know it alls were bursting at the sea...