I know it's wordless Wednesday, but.....

I'm relatively new to blogging, and I cruise all over checking out different blogs. Wow- we are all so different. Most of the blogs that I read are usually written by the parent(s) of a child with Down Syndrome. Sometimes I am surprised by the comments that are posted. Most comments are supportive, but some aren't. It's obvious that we're not going to all agree on everything but unless someone is asking for advice , why do people feel compelled to give advice? To take it a step further, why do people feel the need for passing judgement and being rude when making comments? It's really quite disturbing.

Everyone I know that has a child with DS does a lot of research. When decisions need to be made that affect our kids, those decisions are not taken lightly. Much time and consideration is put into the decision-making process. Some of us decide to vaccinate on schedule, some follow an alternative schedule, some don't vaccinate at all. Some decide to keep their babies home until the age of 3, some send their kids to school when they're 2. Some decide to home-school. Some people think it's okay to have their child labeled as Mentally Retarded. Some would fight that label with everything they have in them. Some choose to pursue private therapies, some stick with whatever therapies are offered by the county or the school. Some people go through the drive-through at McDonalds, some are appalled at the thought of it. I still think one similarity remains. We all do what we think is right for our family. We're all trying to do the best that we can.

I'm so thankful for my "support group" of family and friends. We all look at things differently, which I love because it makes things interesting. The majority of my family home schools. I never have, nor do I intend to. When I say things about home schooling out of ignorance, I am gently informed of my ignorance! On the flip side of that, I can help my family understand why people that have children with disabilities get so worked up when the word retard is thrown around. My friends that chose not to have prenatal testing can tell me about their reasons for not wanting to have the testing done. In turn I let them know that we chose prenatal testing not because there was a choice to be made, but because we wanted to know exactly what we were facing, in order to prepare ourselves in every way possible. We grow together, we learn from each other. I love it. I realize that everyone doesn't have the support that we have and I don't ever want to take it for granted. And while I know that some won't agree, this is what I believe.
I believe that God doesn't make mistakes. Therefore, I know that when Lila was blessed with an extra chromosome, it wasn't by accident. I believe that God chose Lila for our family and I think that's awesome. I also believe that He hand-picked the friends that we have and for that I feel incredibly blessed.


Linda