Angels Who Walk Amongst Us
It’s the end of October, a month that holds special meaning to me because in the disability parenting world, it is also Down syndrome Awareness month, a time to rejoice and reflect on the journey I have taken with my special son.
Christopher, my firstborn, a child who entered the world with an extra copy of the 21st chromosome, grew my heart, and with it the power to love bigger and love well. This he taught.
Christopher is my very own angel, a human who although no longer with me in the earthly sense, continues to make his presence known. I see him every day in the beauty of everyday things, each new day brings with it new hope with reflections on the life I’ve led and the life yet to lead.
Today on this morning’s walk, nature’s canopy of beautiful crisp desert leaves, burnt orange and gold adorn the walkway; the changing of the leaves meaning a renewed start of the cycle of life, and I feel a lightness in my step, and a feeling of wonderment permeates my being as I reflect on life with my son and smile. What luck to have this awesome child born to me, a super cute guy…way cuter than any movie heartthrob, and oh so very beautiful in so many ways.
Christopher’s Down syndrome diagnosis was an intrinsic part of who he was, a non-judgmental, meticulously kind individual, a gentle soul who exacted boatloads of pure unconditional love every day of his life. It is said in the Down syndrome world, that angels are linked with Down syndrome like peanut butter is to jam, and I agree, if there are angels, messengers of God, then it’s my son today and every day. Thank you my angel boy, you are the peanut butter to my jam, the wind beneath my sails, the yin to my yang and I love you.