It took me a long time to come to that conclusion, longer than I would honestly like to admit. In the beginning, as I mentioned in my first blog post, we were inundated with so much information, appointments, etc that I did not have time to think, feel, breath, process, etc.
But now, almost 4 years later, I have a son who laughs easily, forgives easily, loves easily, cares easily, hugs and kisses easily, smiles easily, etc. Sure, we still have our difficult moments as with any child but when I hear him and his sister playing, I no longer think - "I have to worry about what they are doing because he has down syndrome" (which I figured would be my automatic train of thought); instead, I just think "How nice that they are playing together so well, let's see how long this will last."
Down syndrome will always be a part of our lives, but it does not define our lives in the least. However, it has helped me to be more sensitive (I hope) to others. I can definitely sympathize more with people that are going through rough times than I previously.
My son's diagnosis of down syndrome also ended relationships in my life, ones that were apparently more fragile than I realized but his diagnosis also showed me the love and encouragement of so many friends and family who did not shy away or turn their heads. For that, I have been blessed.
