This is my first blog entry, and Ryan is sitting across the room on the couch, delighted with the control he has over the DVD he is watching because he has figured out how to use the remote. The Baby MacDonald Puppets are on his favorite DVD; the devilish horse that eats the daisy seems to be his constant delight and is sometimes played more than a dozen times in one sitting.
Ry is seven years old, but what does that mean without the context of "normal"? What is normal, anyway? That's one of the many questions that Down Syndrome has asked of me, and I am grateful to be asked.
He has pneumonia this week, but you'd never know he's ill. He hasn't figured out that illness could garner sympathy and special treatment, so he's simply happy when he's having fun and sad or angry when he doesn't like something. Fortunately, he likes ketchup, so that's what I used to disguise his probiotic supplement today, which helps neutralize the harsh effects of the antibiotics he's taking.
I watch him and his 4-yr-old sister almost every Friday, while Mom and Dad both work. Today, Em is at school and Ry is home recuperating. I love them both, of course, yet my experience of them is different when I have just Em or just Ry, or both together. It's easier and quieter with just Ryan and me. We have special games that we play, which we somehow made up together. He loves to tell me to sleep, which I am happy to pretend to do, including snoring effects, and on command, I wake up and tickle him. That can entertain us both for as long as 15-20 minutes.
So much to say, but not all at once. Ryan is the most authentic and loving person I've ever known. Not a mean inclination in his entire being. Best hugger in the world. And, with very few words, we share a love that is delicious.
Does Down Syndrome really have an up side? It certainly does. I have learned more about love and caring from Ry than I ever knew was possible. He seems like a happy child. And, no doubt, there's much more that I cannot guess.
I am blessed and grateful and a better human being for having him in my life. Talk to you soon.
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Your post brought tears to my eyes.....mostly because my own dear Mother has passed too early, and to see your journey with Ryan helps me get a glimpse into the Nana that my daughter has lost. My Mother adored her granddaughter with Down syndrome, and like you found that her extra chromosome only enriched her life, especially the life as she so loving called it as the 'Icing on the Cake' [ie. the cake was the hard work of raising her own children, but thus you get the pleasure of the icing in your grandchildren]
ReplyDeleteI look forward to following your journey as a Grandma to Ryan and Emma.