Embracing the Ordinary Days While Raising a Child With Down Syndrome

Dear daughter of mine,

This world is like nothing I imagined it would be for you almost five years ago. This time last year there was ski school and Music Together classes. You beamed from atop a pony each week. You relished in friends and fun and books at the library. We swam twice a week.

Since March, it’s been you and I — baking and cooking and crafting and playing. Since March, we’ve been embracing these ordinary life moments and I’ve cherished every one of them with you. I know you miss your activities. I know you miss your people and especially your family. This time has been challenging and sometimes lonely. We both feel it. I hope someday you and I can look back on these days with gratitude for the time we spent together, for the patience we learned together. In this time where our world stood still, I got to savor so many moments with you. What an incredible gift amid the chaos of our world.

Life is fleeting, my darling. Childhood passes at lightning speed. The world is nothing I imagined it would be for you, yet I am thankful for each mundane and ordinary day. And until we can get back to all you and I love to do together, here’s to many more messy days — just you and I.