People do not seem to realize that their opinion of the world is also a confession of character. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Just going through my blog and see that I haven't updated anything since mid April. I have a lot to put on here and I will. Eventually.

Paul and I decided we needed a change of scenery and so, we headed to California last week. We went to Yosemite National Park and to Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks too. Walked for miles and miles and miles, up and down mountain sides, hiked to waterfalls and even spent a day along the coastal region of Monterey. It's beautiful out there. Fisherman's Wharf, Pebble Beach, and Carmel were every bit amazing and beautiful, as the mountains and the HUGE Sequoia trees.

However, I do believe the best thing that we were able to do, is meet up with 3 of my facebook friends..whom I've never met in person before! These 3 gals are proud mama's to children born with Down syndrome too. Yes, we met their children and we were thrilled and a bit saddened at the same time. I'll blog about the trip in a few days.

The reason I started this blog, was to write about the life our our sweet little Carly. Our struggles. Our health issues. Carly's achievements and her milestones; that many parents take for granted. As of lately, some of those parents have completely blown my mind!

Unsure where to go with this blog, from this point in my life. Part of me wants to keep it going, but another part of me thinks I should wrap it up. I mean really..who wants to keep coming to a blog that is so sad, with very little joy and happiness. But, I suppose, that's life. Life isn't a guarantee of "joy" and "happiness".

The other day, something took place on facebook, which hurt me very much. All because I called out a mama, well 3 mama's, of Ds children, who actually posted that they "hate Ds and apraxia" and "I want a cure for Ds". I mean, really? Seriously? To say you "hate Ds" pretty much goes against striving for acceptance from those who have no experience with Ds and would just as soon see no person walking the earth with Ds. And wanting a cure?? PLEASE... that's like saying you wished your child had not been born.

As I sat on my couch, I bit my tongue for quite a while and perhaps, maybe I should have kept my thoughts to myself. But, they opened the can of spoiled, rotted worms that really made me sad. Not mad..at first,,, although, now I'm pissed!

I sat in my living room that night, missing and wishing that my little girl, who was born with Ds, was here on my lap and then I read a facebook status that literally made my chin drop to the floor. I was suddenly very, very sad. Sad because one of these mama's, who I admired so much, felt the need to put something so insensitive of our children, on her facebook. It was there, in black and white..no excuses could cover the fact that it had been placed on her status.

After that, went on it lead me to do some thinning out of my facebook friends. I thought all us Ds mama's were on the same page. We want acceptance. Inclusion. But how can we get that, if Ds mama's say/type that they "hate Ds" or they "want a cure for Ds"? How does that differ from hearing someone say the "R" word? I'm willing to bet, if one of those particular mama's heard someone say, "I hate Ds"..she'd flip her lid.

Some may think I over reacted on this whole thing. My daughter told me to stay out of other people's drama..But I didn't do anything wrong here. All I did is try to explain how sad that that status on facebook made me. Especially since, their happy, healthy Ds children are ALIVE and mine is not. I tried to remind these mama's of the Down Syndrome Creed. The last line was my point. "I'll do it as YOU do, but at MY own pace" Sadly, they didn't get it and fired back at me with both barrels loaded. Whatever. I guess you learn a thing or two about a person.

We will continue to be "finding our way" as we learn to live without our sweet girl. It's a process that is never ending. My hope, from this point forward, is that parents WAKE up and REALIZE the gift you've been given. All children struggle and we all have obstacles to over come in our lifetime. Remember, you could be in my shoes one day. Don't hate Ds or wish it away. For pete, sake..embrace it!