I first read about Alex in the first installment of the book, Gifts: Mothers reflect on how children with Down syndrome enrich their lives. At that time I had no idea, in the years to come, I would learn more about Alex and even become a nettie (my term for an internet buddy) to his mom, Nicol.
This boy, excuse me, this man just celebrated his 18th birthday. Over the past two years I have gotten to see some recent pictures of Alex and hear about some of his activities. I am drawn to this young man. Like a moth to a flame, I cannot help myself. I revel in his triumphs and love to hear of the things he is doing. Seeing pictures of him, doing exactly what a teenager should be doing makes my heart sing. It is just one more notch to help confirm that people with Down syndrome MATTER. They can live good lives, they can be happy, they can be contributing members of society. The montage Nicol created shows the LOVE and ACCEPTANCE he has known his whole life.
Here is the link to Alex's 18th Birthday Montage (I cannot put the whole thing here because I cannot re-size it to fit my page).
There is no denying it, Alex is a handsome young man. I love looking at him even more so because when I look at him, I can see Joseph in 15 years. Normally, I cannot see Joseph as a young man in my mind's eye but when I see Alex, I see Joseph. And I thank Nicol for sharing him with me. She has given me a gift in the pictures she has posted. And now I would like to share that gift with you. Thanks, Nicol for letting me share this.
Christie.......momma to 3 special boys (one of whom just happens to have 47 chromosomes)
No comments:
Post a Comment