Sorry!

I am the eager reader of the sweetest blog by a mom who adopted two darling little blondies from Ukraine earlier this year. Both girls have Down syndrome, but one was especially mistreated by her orphanage. She was put into a little room, in a crib, and left. Rarely changed, never taken outside, never held just to hold her, left banging her head against the crib bars for stimulation. You need to see her now! She is the smaller of the two girls, Hailee, and she is doing marvelously!

Harper and Hailee have been brought into a fabulous family. Their mom, Adeye, recently posted an entry that I wanted to share because we have had the same types of experiences. We find ourselves talking to someone who doesn't know our family's history and when we say we have three daughters with Down syndrome they reply: Oh, I'm sorry.

John is usually the person who gets this reaction, as he is the one most often out in the world meeting folks who would have no idea that he has such an unusual family. His response is very short and consistent: There's nothing to be sorry about. We think they're great!

As Adeye says in her post (which you really NEED to read), what should we be sorry about?

The sweetness, the giggles?

The beauty (if you don't believe me, just keep scrolling down to the next post with all the gorgeous pictures), the strength and fortitude my girls show in learning new skills?

The hugs, O, the hugs?

Should we be sorry that they may never leave the nest? Ha! I'll be sorry if they do! OK, ok, I'll be sad but proud. and a little sorry

Should we be sorry that it can often take the girls longer to learn things? Na! It's good to slow down and savor life. Makes the triumphs all the more triumphant!

Should I be sorry that having Emma was God's way of revealing a purpose He had for my life? Should I be sorry that He didn't pick a more glamorous calling? No--He picked that one thing that fills me with joy and that, I hope, shows His power working in me. Strangely enough, it feels awfully glamorous some days...not because I get any particular recognition out in the world but because I feel so loved by God.

That, gentle readers, is nothing to feel sorry about!