This year for Father's Day, we took a family trip to St. Louis! It
was a MUCH needed get-away for us. We had a lot of great food; Matt was
in heaven with his beer tasting group at Perennial Brewing, and we had a
blast visiting some "touristy" locations. It was too crowded to go up
in the Gateway Arch, but we got to sit by it for a while, and it is
gorgeous.
While at the brewery, a
mom came up to us because she recognized that
Parker has Down Syndrome--which is a first for us. It was her birthday
and she was with all of
her family, including her 16 month old, but she took the time to come up
to us, talk to Parker, and
tell us how great and adorable Parker is. She came up and talked to me a
few times throughout the afternoon, and ended up telling me that her
niece has Down Syndrome. I was startled by how many emotions that made
me feel! I will never forget her kindness and sincere adoration she
showed for Parker. My only regret is that I didn't thank her for coming
to talk to us!
So, a week later, I saw a mom with her adult son with Down Syndrome at the grocery store. Of course I was watching them awkwardly with a big smile on my face, and the mom caught me :) So I went up to her and asked her how old her son was, and told her he was so cute and sweet-- he kept coyly smiling at me from afar. I told her that I also have a son with DS, and told her a little bit about Parker. She got emotional, and talked about how lucky they are that her son is still with them, as he almost didn't survive heart surgery as a baby, and that he is also on the autism spectrum- which I am hearing a lot about these days. It was wonderful for me to see them-- I hope it was wonderful for her, too. I am lucky to have a community of others to lean on, and know that so many other people don't get that opportunity. Small acts of kindness are definitely what get us through life!
