Why Celebrations Matter

This year has been an amazing year for my family and me. I am very grateful for all of the people who are now part of the IDSC, and the great work they are doing, which has enabled me to take a deep breath and regain a bit of my life back.

I sort of consider March 21, 2014, as the anniversary of the day I stepped away from my active working role at the IDSC, and into my role as the Founder of the IDSC.

This March 21, 2015, I will be celebrating that anniversary.

When ever you let go, and move on, from anything, there is a period of adjustment.

This was no different.

I spent a lot of months learning how to live a simple life again.

Painting furniture, taking photography classes, connecting to old friends, visiting with my extended family, traveling, reading, and just plain old, uninterrupted, relaxing.

It had been a long time since I was really able to do any of that.

The day ME was born, was technically the day I started advocating. I went from her birth straight into the fire of advocacy when the good folks at my husband's job said they wanted to dedicate a golf tournament in ME's honor. The GSDSS was born, and it did not stop there. What I saw when I was forming the GSDSS rolled into what I wrote about, which then became the IDSC.

So this year, I spent a lot of time being a mom to a beautiful girl who has Down syndrome, and for the first time in her 9 years of life, I was not part of an organization that was advocating for all people with Down syndrome.

It was truly wonderful!

Initially, I did not know where to go, or what to do, with my new found time.

But in time, I began to love every moment of my new life!

So this March 21, I am celebrating my one year anniversary!

I have a lot of things planned to celebrate that day. Mostly privately, with just my little family.

But one of the things that I thought it would be fun to do to celebrate with those who have followed me, is to re create this video I created years ago.

A lot of people still tell me they wished they could have held up a sign to tell the world what they would tell themselves. So why not do this again? In a small version.

This time, I too will have a sign. I actually did not get to add my own sign, because there was simply not enough room, and I had to fit everyone else in. I kept mine out, because their voices mattered, and I wanted them to know that, and not leave anyone out.

But this time, I would like to get my voice in there too.

I want to think hard and long on what my sign will say.

This time, I actually have the time to think of my message.

And that is a beautiful thing!