I love this day! Why? Because it’s 3-21! To explain this, let me quote something from the National Down Syndrome Society. Trisomy 21 is the clinical way of saying Down syndrome, which is the third copy on the 21st chromosome. In a person without Down syndrome, there are 46 chromosomes in the human body. Individuals with Down syndrome have an extra chromosome; we have 47. Trisomy 21= 3-21 or March 21st.
So, today I celebrate my son Andrew and the journey we’ve been on together for 28 years. I celebrate all of the wonderful Down syndrome children and adults I’ve been lucky enough to have in my life. Down syndrome people want to have friends, have love, be cool, be accepted and very often, hold down a job.
Isn’t that a wonderful video? Thank you STING!
I am also thankful every day for the joy my son brings us. It’s not complicated or sophisticated. It might be hug or a smile that I didn’t expect. That’s an enormous gift for this caregiver/writer/mother.
My son loves to go to the car wash! He’d rather be here than a movie. He has Down syndrome and autism so it’s something about the brushes and the rainbow bubbles. Contentment is finding happiness in little things.
Did you know my Pecan Bayou Series features a character with Down Syndrome? Danny is a composite of the many Down syndrome people I’ve known over the years. Writing a character like this around a murder mystery can be difficult at times because I feel it would be very upsetting for this character, but the love he brings to the other characters is one of my favorite parts.
So here’s to you boys and girls, men and women on 3-21!