"O" is for "Down Syndrome"

Opportunity

Over the course of the 8 months or so since Jenny and I found out we'd be having a baby girl with Ds, something has occurred to me time and time again. When I think about the wonderful blessing that the good Lord has given us, I feel like it is an "opportunity" of a lifetime.

It's always amazing to me how I feel and handle 'negative' news. I guess it depends on the day and what may have happened already, but sometimes it seems like I can handle negative issues much better on some days than others. I'll be honest, it took some time to work through all the negative emotions when I first found out the news about our precious Camden Grace. But, after a few weeks of soul searching and becoming stronger through the help of my family and friends, I've really thought of Camden's Ds as an opportunity.

Not many people are fortunate enough to know someone with Ds, let alone have a child with it. I know Camden's only a little over 3 months, but I feel like I have already learned so much about Ds and just how much of a wonderful impact it can have on your life--if you truly open your heart and mind and allow it to do so.

This opportunity that I've been given is on that I will always cherish and appreciate. In life, we have a tendency to get wrapped up in the little things that can ruin your day if you let it. Like this afternoon, my brother-in-law was helping me with building a base for the shed we will be getting in a few weeks. There is a bit of slope where the shed will be built and as such, we decided that the best and most secure she base would involve digging some holes and pouring concrete footers. We rented a 2-person post hole digger to 'quickly' dig out the 4 holes that we'd need to set posts in the footers. After letting him know that we'd probably pound out those four holes in about 45 minutes, it ended up taking us closer to a little over 3 hours--yes, it was a comedy of errors. The post hole digger didn't seem to have much power/torque, the soil turned out to be heavy clay soil--just one thing after another.

Needless to say, with all of the issues we ran into with those 4 measly holes, we did not get as far as I had hoped. In addition, I was exhausted from using that post hole digger. It was quite frustrating to say the least, but all of that frustration was washed away when I came inside to see Jenny playing and talking with Camden. Seeing Camden's eye's as big as quarters and the huge smile on her face, made me quickly forget about how frustrating the last few hours had been.

I love the 'opportunity' that I've been presented with--more than words could ever say.