They were there
this morning as I sat in my favorite chair. The one I sit in when the house is
still and the day is just about to break with activity. Little hand prints on
the mirror, hung way too low for fashion decor, but just the right height for
the little girl who stands in front of it. She looks at herself in full length.
Admiring her many faces. Silly ones and sad ones followed by laughs and
giggles. She puts on her hats and butterfly wings and sings songs she has
learned in school. Sometimes her brothers join in and they carry on reciting
lines from a favorite show. And yesterday she danced! With Michael Jackson’s
Thriller album in the background, she danced in front of the mirror. Joyfully
she twirled and spun.  Swaying to
the music in sheer delight. I gladly joined in…

Go back with
me to the 26th of April 2006. I never would have thought I would see her dance.
That day the shock of her diagnosis clouded my vision and dampened my spirit.
“Down syndrome?!? What do you mean our daughter has Down syndrome?” The
news was too hard to comprehend. My mind was filled with an endless list of
what she would surely not do, and how forever our lives would never be the
same. After five boys, the joy of having a little girl came crashing down by
the sad reality of her “condition…”   

Those early days with Grace were gloomy. The sun could be shining but my heart was gray. Grace received about 60 baby gifts, ninety- nine percent in pink. Those cute dresses and girly bows were a sad reminder to me that indeed we had a little girl, but she was not what we had dreamed of or imagined. 

She did not do much those early days. She just lay there…in her car seat…in her crib…on the floor. She just lay there. I asked my husband one day, “Will she be like this forever?  Will she be a toddler and just lay there on her bed?” That was all I could see.

Well, that little girl is now four and she most certainly does not “just lay there.” She climbs on her brother’s bed and gives him a big hug as she says, “Wake up Daniel.  Time to go to school!” She rides her little car on the deck and goes on the seesaw with our neighbors. She is memorizing Bible verses for her Friday night Bible Club (AWANA), and attends two preschools. Last week her teacher informed me she is becoming a little leader in her class. She loves to look at books and run after our neighbor’s puppy. 

Daily I am surprised by what she can do or says. The other day, I told her we had to pick up milk (and a variety of other things our family seems to always run out of).  As we were driving, Grace exclaimed, “Mommy you passed the grocery store!” She was right on. She was paying attention even when I was not.

Things are not always easy. There are times of struggle and days filled with whines. Not to mention potty training. That is a story unto itself. But I have been challenged by this little girl in ways I never could have imagined. 

I take delight in having her call me Mommy. I now see with clearer eyes and the days are no longer gray. I learn all I can about Down syndrome and special education law. I have even become a bit more assertive as I navigate the road to advocacy on her behalf. I have met other moms who share in this journey with me. They have become my friends. 

Our lives are certainly not the same…but this is a good thing! I believe God is shaping me to be more like him–one little handprint at a time. 

Guisela Lombardo is the mother of five boys and one amazing little girl named Grace. She along with other moms started the group 21Strong, an outreach, education and support group for families living in Fairfield County CT whose lives have been touched by Down syndrome.