About Connections...

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So, by now you know that yesterday was the wedding. The flower girl and her entourage loaded up the Futuremobile (seriously, my new car has way too many buttons and I give up) and we spent a couple of days in a new city, eating and sleeping and enjoying the camaraderie of others in a different environment and for a very special occasion.

By the time we made it to the wedding site, Playette was totally hype, bouncing off the walls, and, I feared, on the verge of a meltdown. She was so excited that she wouldn't nap, no matter how much I begged. I was petrified that she'd show her fatigue right as the ceremony began.

But, no. She did great. I was so, so proud of her, but, of course, she was even more proud of herself. I think we'll be subjected to "playing wedding" for quite some time to come.

Sorry for the crappy crop job. I didn't ask permission to post anyone else on here, so I want to be respectful. Playette was super slippery and hard to catch in photos, regardless, so I don't have much to choose from. 

What's most important though is why we went.

It was necessary.

The bride used to watch Playette for us, back when we lived in VA and I was working outside of the home, trying to get more things done in a day than hours existed for. We were fortunate to have a young woman recommended to us by friends that were leaving the area, so we welcomed her into our home and the life of our little girl.

She would pick her up from school and take her to therapy. They would go to the park or stay in the house to sing and play. She even let Playette practice her mad hairdressing skillz on her own locks.

And even after this young woman moved two hours away, she would still request to come and watch Playette whenever her schedule would allow such an undertaking.

This is someone who showed compassion, patience, kindness, and all the love a parent could ever hope to exist from a caretaker to their child.

So when she asked if Playette could participate in her wedding? I wanted - needed - to make that happen.

You want to know what I saw for the first time at the reception last night?

A brother-sister dance.

I've been to plenty of weddings.

I've seen the bride-groom dance.

I've seen the father-daughter dance.

I've seen the mother-son dance.

But this was my first brother-sister.

Which brings me back to something that actually relates to Ds Awareness.

The bride's brother happens to have Ds.

I have heard for the last five years how siblings of people with Ds tend to come away with more compassion, patience, kindness, and many other desirable traits.

I need to look no further to know this much is true.

There are plenty of people who are afraid that having a child with Ds will with make other children in the family suffer.

That's not what I saw last night. I saw a bond between two adults that I wish I could say existed between me and my own sibling.

And also? I couldn't help but wonder about the connection that people with Ds have with one another. Do they immediately notice the similar features and throw each other signs so secret that those of us that lack the extra chromosome miss it altogether?

Because one of the sweetest things I saw was that one particular groomsman dancing with the flower girl. He claimed her as his "daughter." He saw something in my girl that he connected with right away.

I left there feeling like I had witnessed some of what is best about this world.