If you follow me, you may have read a blog post in which I shared an experience I had recently. After posting it I heard from many people saying they had the same experience or one like it, and thanked me for writing the post. 

Two comments from two friends got me thinking in a different way.

Their reactions surprised me, and quite honestly made pause. 

What if we flipped the message, and instead of it being a negative, we all share it in a positive light?

What if we started with the words "One of those" and added athletes, artists, readers... you get the drift? What if we accented on the incredibly wonderful attributes of people we know and love? 

Well, I guess that really resonated with people because my Facebook went crazy with posts and photos. Quite honestly I could not keep up with how many people were tagging me. To say I was a little overwhelmed by the response is an understatement. 

Most filled in the blank, many did not. However, the pride and joy by all of the families was palpable.

Here are a few of my favorites,(shared with permission) though truth be told, I love every single beautiful photo posted and tagged for me to see. Our community is incredible and I could not be more proud to stand by your sides. 

I love this first post because it accents on the fact that her son is just like his siblings!! 

Of course he is! Now the world knows too!

This next post is from a dear friend and, again, tears welled in my eyes reading this. I love when two friends connect from shared experiences! Without a doubt my friend, Alicia, and I have connected over the years as we both have parented beautiful daughters who have given us our keys into the disabilities community. 

The joy and simplicity of this next post made my heart leap for joy! Lyvi loves school just like most children do at her age. She is more alike than she is different and a little darling to boot. 

And then there is this one. This really resonated with me! A few years ago a study was released that shared the following information about the lives of individuals who have Down syndrome:

99% of those who live with Down syndrome are happy with their life. 97% of those who live with Down syndrome like who they are. 96% of those who live with Down syndrome like how they look. Nearly 99% of those with Down syndrome expressed love for their families. 

Margie did an incredible job of sharing this information, in a beautiful, thoughtful way! 

The phrase "one of those" was taking on a new meaning. 

And she and her husband continued the messages in their comments. 

What started out with my friends encouraging me to feel better about my experience was now coming at me at lightening speed through tags on social media. When I asked my friends to help me turn this from a negative to a positive by sharing a statement about their loved ones, I never expected to see it grow so quickly. But grow it did! Thank you to each of you who shared your incredible message of love and life!

I love to have the voices of the community heard so I am going to write a Part 3 blog post in which I share the reactions from many perspectives on this little hashtag event. I love to learn from the experiences that come my way, and this experience was no different. 

*All photos were used with permission from the person who posted on my page.