What My Life Is Like Having a Daughter With Down Syndrome

My daughter, Jordan Grace, has Down syndrome. She has a sense for enjoying all the little things in life. You know that saying, “stop and smell the roses?” Well, that’s what our Jordan Grace has shown us.

She takes her time — just walking to the car from the house, she will acknowledge the trees, sometimes stops and smells them, she says goodbye to the house, waves and blows kisses, and walks around the bushes in front of our house, literally having the time of her life, smiling and running around, as if she’s doing it for the very first time. She has no sense of hurry, which has helped me learn to slow down in life.

She notices birds, planes, leaves on the grown, butterflies; she appreciate and loves all things. It is amazing how she brings our attention to things we know are there but truly never see. Jordan Grace has a way to make our stress disappear, if only for a moment, filled with sweet reminders of what is important in life.

 

I have always been the kind of person who likes to be on time, no matter where I go. Even if I give myself time, sometimes where we are going is not as important as the journey. The sweet little adventures she takes me on are worth taking the time to experience.

Her little being does not tell time, she’s not on a schedule to accomplish anything. She is, however, interested in making everyone smile. She’s loving and caring, she worries when anyone cries — it could be a stranger at a store, she wants to run and hug them.

She has feelings, all of them, she’s not always happy — though most of the time she is. Her soul radiates sweet sunshine, it is impossible to have a bad day when she’s around. Our little one has a way to show us how to slow down in life by leading us by example.

Living life through her eyes has truly been a new experience for all of us. Being in the present is how she lives, she’s not looking ahead, she enjoys each moment to the fullest. That’s the life I want to live, she inspires me to appreciate this gift we have, this life we live, this moment in time.

To me, that is the definition of Down syndrome.

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