As the school year approaches, there is the usual hustle and bustle. Parents are securing college items and Target looks picked over. I should be preparing Bailey for college. This would be the time that we would have lists to follow, arguments to ensue, and tears to be shed. That is not what is meant to be. My beautiful, son with Down Syndrome, won’t be attending college. His path is different. While I thought I would be grieving, I am not.
What happened could clearly be labeled as a spiritual awakening, but for me it is about acceptance. This doesn’t mean that there isn’t some lingering periods of sadness. There are always going to be those moments, however, there is no more heart-stabbing grief. The path that we are on is enlightening and full of miracles. This life with him fills me up. He is not defined by his diagnosis, rather he is empowered by it. Why shouldn’t it empower me too? I am not special, by any means, simply because I parent a child with special needs. Clearly, parenting is a challenge no matter what the circumstances are, but having Bailey has evolved me as a person.
So while many of my friends send their sons and daughters off to college, I will be mindful of their sadness, be comforting with my words, and look at Bailey with nothing but pride and acceptance.
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