Today is National Down Syndrome Day. What seems a little odd to me is I never think of Amy as having Down Syndrome. I just think of her as “Amy” . I feel so blessed to be her mom and having the privilege of helping her be the best she can be. Amy has impacted all of our lives in a positive way. I have learned so much about judging others by their appearance or speech. I had been guilty of talking like a baby to people with special needs. Amy has taught me to talk to her and everyone else the same. We try to expect the most from Amy. Her siblings would argue that she gets by with a lot but Russ and I are trying very hard to let her be as independent as possible. This photo captures a rare moment when Amy is voluntarily holding a puppy. For her, puppy holding really is a job. We think it is so funny! Maybe because she has grown up with dogs her entire life, but she really does look at it as a chore! One thing she is very good at is bossing the dogs around. She likes to be large and in charge when it comes to training the dogs. The puppies love her and when she does her “job” she does it well!
I guess to sum up “National Down Syndrome Day” I am happy to know alot more about down syndrome and I am especially happy that Amy was born into our family and continues to do her “job” of holding our precious puppies!