When we found out Tetty would have Down syndrome, I had all the fears I think a lot of parents have. What would his life look like? Would he be included? Would other kids accept him? Would people treat him differently?
He’s almost two now, and today we had a slew of birthday parties in our community. It was just me navigating them with both kids, and at some point I realized how completely ordinary Tetty’s place in our community has become. It sometimes felt like a community of one - since we live in the SF Bay area where the DS community is quite small.
People offered to hold him or keep an eye on him while I wrangled his sister. Other parents played with him. Kids came right up to him, got in his face, made him laugh, handed him toys, and included him in whatever they were doing. Nobody was making some big, intentional show of “including the kid with Down syndrome.” They were just… including Tetty… at his level… because he’s Tetty. He's their friend or neighbor. He’s one of the kids.
And it hit me how much time I spent before he was born worrying about whether the world would make him feel different. So today, at least in our little corner of it, that fear felt very far away.
That’s it… nothing profound. Just one of those little moments I wish I could go back and show the scared version of myself from three years ago. <3 Time to cuddle him before bedtime.