In My Own Language.....

I first saw this video, from a link on Trisomy21online.com, that Monica posted.

I sat mezmerized by the whole video, the beginning language, a beautiful, spiritual chant, and the interpertation of what I was witnessing.

There is an interesting discussion going on at T21online regarding the woman in the video, Amanda Baggs and looking at our own built in 'interpertations of life'.

My dear friend Betsy also wrote about how this piece has challenged her to think about the message....it has also done the same for me. I am actually having a hard time putting into words how this video and how Amanda's blog has reached deep down inside of me, challenging me to really think.

At the same time, I'm reading 'The Measure Of A Man ~ a spiritual autobiography' by Sidney Poitier and I recalled a passage in the beginning where he writes about our spiritual interaction with the world and how words don't always have to deliver the message.

pg 13 "This watchful way extended to human nature ~ words, motivations, actions, and consequences. The quiet and simple atmosphere of my childhood enabled me to focus down to the level of the subtle body language that came at me from my parents and siblings. On that tiny island I had gotten to know these signals really, really well. I had learned to read them just as I had learned to read the cliffs and the tides. I didn't understand them all, but over time I could use them as a reference point in trying to understand what others were saying, what they were doing, why they were behaving towards me as they were. I think that this is the basis for what has come to be called "Emotional intelligence.". It's a capacity that's nurtured by silence and the intimacy, and by the freedom to roam."

My hope and dreams for Emma Sage have been exactly the same as for her siblings. I want my children to love life, to celebrate the blessings of a new day. I want them to dance, to sing, to learn, to explore, to challenge themselves, to cherish everything that makes their hearts soar.

To that end, I have embraced Emma Sage and nurtured her from home. We opted out of outside early intervention services.....mostly because I saw the structure of the sytem to be foreign to what I was comfortable with. I never saw Emma Sage as being broken and needing to be fixed.

Loved, nurtured, encourage, taught, stimulated, just the same as her siblings have. Providing the 'freedom to roam'.........and I am the one who learns lessons everyday......life is truly a blessing and I'm so thankful for my little sage to help me see the way....my sweet, Emma Sage.