Alice
has only been here for 10 weeks, but she’s already taught me way more than I
could ever hope to teach her. Here are a
few of her wise-beyond-her-years lessons.
1. Live
in the moment.
I’m
a planner. I plan things far in advance
and have things lined up for a long time.
I’m not spontaneous at all. It’s
not in my nature. When Alice was first
diagnosed with Down syndrome, part of my initial panic was because I thought of
my life 60 years down the road. I
thought Tim and I would be 90 years old and Alice would still be living with
us, completely dependent on us. I now
realize that most likely won’t be the case.
But even if it is, that’s 60 years down the road. I don’t have to take care of that today. All I have to take care of today is
today. And I can do that.
2. Trust God’s plan.
Part of being such a planner is that I have my own plans and
visions for how things will turn out.
When we first got married, I told Tim, “I’m going to get pregnant in a
year and a half, and then again a year after that, and then we’ll see how
things are going and then…” I think back
to that now and just laugh. Sure, I can
make all the plans I want but it’s really up to God. When you make plans, God laughs, right? I realize now that I simply need to trust His
plan. Everything will happen in His
timing. And His plans, although usually
different, are always greater than my own.
3. Be aware and tolerant of
differences.
Growing
up, I never really knew anyone with a disability. I’m actually ashamed to say that I never
really paid much attention to people with disabilities. It wasn’t in my world. Now that Alice is here, I notice differences
all the time. The other day, I took to
the girls to our local community center so Lucy could play. I was watching Lucy and feeding Alice, but
also doing some people watching. In the
span of just a few minutes, I noticed a little boy who was deaf and doing sign
language with his dad, a woman who was limping and had an artificial foot and a
little girl in a wheelchair with braces on her legs. Three months prior, I guarantee I would not
have even noticed these people. I would
not have had any thoughts about their differences or disabilities. Now, I notice these things—and I appreciate
them so much.
4. I can handle more than I thought I
could.
I guess you never really know your own strength until you’re put
in a situation where you have to be strong.
Three months ago, if you would have told me I’d have a child with Down
syndrome and be doing OK, I would have told you you’re crazy. I would have told you that I couldn’t handle
that. There’s no way that would happen
to me. And if it did, there’s no way I’d
be OK. But it happened—and I’m handling
it. And it’s made me better. No matter what life throws my way, I’ll be
OK.
5. I have the best husband, family
and friends.
It’s
true that you find out who you can rely on when you have something “bad” happen
to you. In this unexpected time, I have
been overwhelmed with the outpouring of love, support and prayer. Our families and friends have been nothing
short of amazing. I can’t say thank you
enough for all of the cards, notes, texts, calls, emails and visits. I am surrounded by so much love, and that
means Alice will be too. That makes me
so happy. And Tim—well, I didn’t think I
could love Tim any more than I already did, but then we had Alice. The way he handled her diagnosis and the way
he absolutely just loves her no matter what… it makes me see him in a whole new
light. He’s just the best. I’m so lucky.
6. All life is precious.
Enough said.
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