tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-86566942024-03-07T17:02:21.078-08:00EmmaSageEmma ~ One who Heals
Sage ~ One with Great Wisdom
Emma Sage is our little girl that is blessed with a little extra ~~ chromosome that is ~~ on her 21st pair.
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/annikaleigh/92419017/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://static.flickr.com/21/92419017_02dd456dc9_o.jpg" width="750" height="322" alt="emmaheader"></a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12628921554027431376noreply@blogger.comBlogger2013125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8656694.post-76266658163403557762014-09-11T06:39:00.001-07:002014-09-11T07:18:08.377-07:00Rememberance.....Thirteen years ago..........September 11, 2001<br />
<br />
Thirteen years ago.............our world shook. It wasn't because of a natural disaster, like the Tsunami or Hurricane Katrina or Sandy, As it was a far worse disaster ~ because it was created by human hatred<br />
<br />
Life for our family is good [we are truly blessed] and the morning of September 11, 2001 found us in our typical daily routine.........up early, breakfast, drive the children to school and then Emma Sage and I would come home to a quiet morning.<br />
<br />
Rick was in Montreal, Canada, for school [we had been up to see him a week earlier and spent a glorious vacation touring Montreal, driving home Labor Day weekend.........because of the terror attacks Rick was not able to return home to us for days.]<br />
<br />
I dropped Katrina and Greta off at Woodglen School and then drove down the valley to drop Otto off at school at Valley View. On the way to Valley View I noticed a plane flying very low..........lower than I have ever seen a commercial flight on the flight pattern we see from our area heading to Newark Airport. I notice planes all the time because of Ricks career in aviation. I shrugged it off as maybe I was just off my bearings that morning.<br />
<br />
It was truly a glorious September day,,,,,,,,,,,,,the sky was bright blue, the air was dry and warm, the landscape was draped in a light that just made it look like a Rembrandt painting.<br />
<br />
Emma Sage and I got home and went inside to hear the phone ringing. I answered the phone and it was my sister Patti, telling me to turn on the news as a small plane had crashed into the World Trade Center. I had a brief moment of fear..............I had worked for years in the area and at one point in my life, had dinner at least once a week at Windows of the World,,,,,,,,,,,,,and then another sinking fear, I was supposed to be at a financial conference put on by Risk/Waters magazine this morning, but I had turned the job down the night before because I just couldn't leave Emma Sage.<br />
<br />
<br />
I watched the TV,,,,,talking with Patti on the phone. I said to her that I couldn't believe a small plane could have done such damage. I started to cry...........holding Emma Sage in my arms, close to my breasts, pacing back and forth, kissing her sweet head and talking with Patti.........<br />
and then BAMM!!!!<br />
<br />
In horror my sister and I [on the phone with each other] watched the second plane crash into the second tower. I knew as I watched the plane that it was a big commercial plane and at that exact moment I knew this was a calculated attack.<br />
<br />
Patti and I were both crying,,,,,trying to come to terms with what we just saw. All along I clutched this precious child of mine to my chest. Not wanting to let go of her, afraid of what was going on.<br />
<br />
This was familiar territory to me..........buildings that were an important part of my life. I watched these buildings being built,,,,,my father driving us to the city from time to time to marvel at the progress of the towers going up,up,up,,,up. A fellow skydiver friend of mine jumped off the Trade Center, and we were on the ground as his escape team. I dined at Windows of the World weekly for a few years, I traveled through the towers every day to the American Express tower in the Financial Trade Center and the building I worked in for Merrill Lynch was the last building to fall on that fateful day. As I watched the TV screen, I was paralyzed by fear and overcome by a sadness that was, to this day, so utterly profound.<br />
<br />
<br />
I tried to call Rick and after hours I was finally able to get through to him in Canada to let him know what was happening in the states.<br />
<br />
I then I felt so alone. Watching the horror unfold............talking to my sister and crying, and holding my precious little girl.<br />
<br />
<br />
As time has moved forward, I realize that there is a reason for everything [<em>sometimes many reasons</em>] and I know that Emma Sage is a blessing in multiple ways..........but one incredible feeling I will never release is the feeling that I have knowing that her extra chromosome [<strong>her Down syndrome</strong>] is a major reason I was not at the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001.<br />
<br />
<br />
Her birth made Rick and I realize that my being home with the children [but especially this child],,,,giving up much in the way of income,,,,meant that she would have only family to care for her..........to work with her,,,to help her develop to her fullest potential, and it kept me home on that fateful Tuesday in September.<br />
<br />
<br />
Today I remember a dear friend, <a href="http://astrologymundo.wordpress.com/2008/09/11/david-e-rivers-in-memoriam/">David E. Rivers,Editor of Risk/Waters Magazine</a>.......You were truly an amazing man, editor, writer, friend, husband and father. <em><strong>David, you are missed dearly and will never be forgotten.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/annikaleigh/4978629758/" title="Memorial park ~ 9/11 by annikaleigh, on Flickr"><img alt="Memorial park ~ 9/11" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4124/4978629758_e397b7e3e3.jpg" height="500" width="375" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/annikaleigh/2849044167/" title="Untitled by annikaleigh, on Flickr"><img alt="" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3152/2849044167_0450f64e73.jpg" height="500" width="375" /></a><br />This is the memorial at our township park.....these are beams from one of the World Trade Center buildings.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/annikaleigh/2849044041/" title="Untitled by annikaleigh, on Flickr"><img alt="" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3109/2849044041_e7761ca9eb.jpg" height="500" width="375" /></a><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/annikaleigh/2849043261/" title="9/11 by annikaleigh, on Flickr"><img alt="9/11" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3101/2849043261_6826b68d92.jpg" height="375" width="500" /></a><br />2,996.........<br />Otto helped place these flags on the field on Wednesday evening with his Boy Scout troop in 2010.......he said that each flag he placed, he had to hold back tears......<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/annikaleigh/2849043503/" title="Untitled by annikaleigh, on Flickr"><img alt="" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3261/2849043503_28bd7d8d69.jpg" height="500" width="375" /></a><br />Written by a child........may we always remember.<br /><br />........and on this Day of September 11th, I reflect with even sadder and more profound tears of remembrance, as a very dear friend of mine was a first responder whose life has been deeply changed because of all he witnessed and dealt with on the scene.<br /><br />I am humbled by the dignity, bravery, grace, compassion and nobility exhibited by all those who went forward without thought of themselves to help others.<br /><br />I am saddened to hear others talk lightly about what happened.......and I pray that we never, ever forget what truly happened on that fateful day.<br /><br />May we always remember.......<br /><br />May we always remember........</strong></em><em><strong></strong></em>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12628921554027431376noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8656694.post-21154430260356280642013-05-08T19:33:00.000-07:002013-05-08T19:59:12.070-07:00On her Twelfth Birthday.....<em>This is the story of how Down syndrome entered into our
lives,,,,,,,,presenting itself in the genetic make-up of our youngest child. </em><br />
<em><br />We hope you Enjoy reading about our beginning of this
journey........<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/annikaleigh/8045956499/" title="40309737_375a389bce_o by annikaleigh, on Flickr"><img alt="40309737_375a389bce_o" height="456" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8029/8045956499_3414379bf9_o.jpg" width="334" /></a>
<br />
</em><br />
<em><strong>The
story of Emma Sage</strong></em><br />
<br />
<em>Emma: One who heals<br />Sage: One
with great wisdom</em><br />
<em>Alexandra:</em> See her birth story to find out
the meaning of her third [unplanned] name<br />
<br />
Even before her birth, Emma
Sage has lived up to her name, by healing and teaching those around her the true
meaning of life.<br />
<br />
Emma Sage is our fifth child. She was conceived one year
to the day of our miscarriage. Before her conception I never fully understood
the power of ones soul…….but the moment of her conception, I arose from a deep
sleep, overcome by the most incredible sensation.….I sat up as I felt her soul
enter into my body [I know you might question this experience, but it was the
most profound moment of my life and one that has allowed me the greatest sense
of peace.] I knew immediately that I was pregnant. I placed my hands on my lower
belly and asked GOD for this baby to stay. It was a warm August night and the
moon was full. I laid back down and watched the stars through the skylight
thinking about what had just happened.<br />
<br />
About 10 days later I took a home
pregnancy test and it was positive….I took three more just to be sure. I was
very nervous because of our loss that I asked my midwife to check my <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">HGH</span> levels at around 4
weeks. The levels were high and my fears subsided a bit. It was around this time
that I began having dreams. I kept dreaming of a little girl who looked just
like a china-doll….so tiny and perfect. I had my first dream of having the baby
on the side of the road…..Beginning my concern of missing labor and birthing [in
my dreams it was everywhere]. My sister who is a L&D nurse would laugh at me
when I would tell her of my dream and she brought me a cord clamp and told me to
keep it with me. [As fate would have it, we needed to use that cord clamp!] At 8
weeks, we took a family vacation to Florida. While at Universal Studios, Rick,
Katrina, Greta and I [Otto was at Disney World with my mother, sister and her
family] we were sitting in NYC waiting for the Blues Brothers show…..when this
powerful sensation came over me again. I was watching this beautiful little boy
dancing around…he would come up to us and smile and then dance away back to his
parents. After the show started I could not keep my eyes off of this little guy.
I looked at Rick and told him that I thought that this little baby was going to
be exactly like that little boy [that it would have Down syndrome]. Rick put his
arm around me and said, “That would be just fine”. I told my sister about the
incident that night at dinner and we both forgot about it.<br />
<br />
At my 13-week
visit I was measuring big for dates, so my midwife asked if it was OK to do an
ultrasound to rule out twins. Rick and I agreed [I was actually so nervous this
pregnancy and wanted to take a ‘peek’ at little one]. The ultrasound was one of
the worst experiences of my life….for the only reason being that the technician
was cold and in the middle of the scan said “There is something wrong with this
baby” and left it at that, even though I was asking her millions of questions.
While I was wiping off the goop, she called my midwife and said, “I think we
have a problem”…..Rick and I went right up to my midwifes office. There, my
midwife Peggy told me that the technician had measured the baby’s neck and the
measurement was abnormal. The baby’s <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">nuchal</span> translucency was 3.6mm and anything over
3.5mm was a soft marker for Down syndrome. Later that night Rick and I sat
outside in the barn on his motorcycle and talked. I asked him at one point “what
are we going to do?” and he looked at me and said “we are having a baby, we are
not GOD, nor should we ever play GOD” [[man do I love this guy…..he is my best
friend and he gives me such strength at times]] I was just so scared not knowing
…….but this began my quest on finding everything I could on <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">nuchal</span> translucency, soft
markers & Down syndrome. We already knew we would not have an <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">amnio</span> and we scheduled a
level II genetic ultra sound for 19 weeks gestation at a teaching hospital near
us.<br />
<br />
The time between the 13-week scan and the 19-week scan proved to be
one of the most enlightening times of my life. Everyone who asked me about my
pregnancy heard about the possibility that the baby might have Down syndrome and
the responses I got amazed me….from “you will be truly blessed if the baby does”
to “What are you going to do, your not going to have it are you?” One of the
most profound comments came from my daughter Greta. While discussing with the
children the ultrasound and ‘choices’ people make based on <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">pre</span>-natal testing Greta
looked at me and said “So mom, if parents had a crystal ball [like the
ultrasound machine] and found out that the baby they were carrying was perfect
and when that baby was five it was in a horrible accident and became disabled
and they had to take care of that child for the rest of their lives, could those
parents choose to terminate that baby just because they <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">didn</span>’t want to deal with it
later on?” [[See I told you Emma Sage was already teaching those around her the
true meaning of life, even before she entered into our world]]<br />
<br />
At the
level II, my sister came with me. She used to work at St. Peters and I wanted
her with me to also look at the scan to see if there were any issues with the
baby’s heart or other major organs [I had come to accept the T21 very easily…it
was health issues that I was scared of, because I wanted to make sure we
delivered at the right hospital if little one need immediate medical care [how
funny is this when fate had its hand on where Emma Sage was to be born]]. The
baby was free of any structural issues and the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">nuchal</span> translucency had corrected itself at
this point. We did have a slightly abnormal <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">pyelectusis</span>, so another soft marker was found.
This changed my risk/ratio from 1/47 to 1/280. At a 28-week scan the baby had no
soft markers for Down syndrome, but I knew in my heart already that she would be
born with that extra little chromosome.<br />
<br />
I celebrated this pregnancy. I
shared with everyone the joy we felt, even in light of the question of T21,
because to me, that <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">didn</span>’t matter……this was a baby, a perfect and
beautiful baby. My dreams kept intensifying. It seemed like at least once a week
I would dream of missing labor and birthing where-ever…..my sister always
laughed when I would tell her of my dreams and kept reminding me to keep the
cord clamp with me. I kept dreaming of an angel…..I thought it was the baby we
lost trying to reassure me that everything would be fine.<br />
<br />
Three days
before Emma Sage’s birth we were at the library and for some strange reason I
found and checked out the book ‘Babies with Down syndrome’ When my mother-in-law
saw the book I had checked out [along with a bunch of books on gardening] she
looked at me and said “your not going to need this book”, and I just smiled at
her and said “I know, it is for just in case”.<br />
<br />
Emma Sage was due on May
5<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">th</span>……..on Tuesday,
May 8<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">th</span> I was busy
that evening helping my oldest daughter with her science project. We finished up
the project and everyone headed to bed early [Rick had an early trip and need to
leave the house by 3:00a.m.] I had bad gas and went down stairs to take a warm
bath…..I would then sleep on the reclining chair for an hour or so and then wake
up with ‘gas’, and take another bath…..this went on three times. After the last
bath I feel asleep to wake to what I thought were finally contractions. It was
1:00 a.m. I timed them for 15 minutes and at 1:20 a.m. called my sister to say
that I think was going into labor [at this point they were beginning to hit me
fast and furious, but I could still walk and talk through them] She told me to
call my midwife and she would get dressed and meet me at the hospital. I called
the midwife at 1:25 a.m., getting her answering service, left a message and
waited [timing what seemed to be waves of contractions, never really beginning
nor ending]. She called me back at 1:33 a.m. {which awoke Rick, who jumped out
of bed and got dressed because he figured something was going on}. I told her I
was not sure if this was the start of labor, but that I felt so weird and that
could she check me out and if it were nothing she could send me home. She said
she was on her way to the hospital and would meet me there. We woke up the
children and I dressed Otto, while I was bending over to put on his overalls, I
was hit with a contraction that scared me. I asked him if he could put on his
shoes, because mommy <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">didn</span>’t feel like bending over anymore. I got
myself dressed and while I was pulling up my overalls, I got another contraction
that hit me like a ton of bricks…..I got real scared because I thought to myself
“If this is the way my labor is beginning, I don’t think I’m going to be able to
handle it and is it a good thing to be bringing the children to the birth if I’m
out of control”……I walked down stairs [Rick and the kids were on their way out
the door] and when I got to the bottom I had this strong sensation to go to the
bathroom. I told Rick I had to go to the bathroom….pulling off my clothes. When
I got in there I realized that I was going to have the baby. I yelled for Rick
telling him that I thought I was going to have the baby right away. I asked him
“Where should I go?”,,,thinking living room floor or back up to my bed and Rick
tells me “Get in the bathtub”….he throws down a bunch of clean towels and he
calls 911. I hear him on the phone and he yells, “kids quick, what is our
address again?” [Our address had changed a few years back for 911 but he could
never remember the street number as opposed to our old RR# as he was always traveling around the world]<br />
<br />
Now this is
where fate steps in again………I knew this was going to be Emma Sage’s birth….I
just did not know where, but I knew it was going to be just us. The most amazing
thing about Emma Sage’s birthplace is that it is exactly the same area that
Rick’s grandfather died [his grandfather died on the toilet in the same bathroom
within inches of where Emma Sage was born,,,and actually Rick was sitting on the
closed toilet, on the phone with 911 while I was delivering her….I think that there
must be a gateway for souls to enter and leave this world at that spot….[and
this is where Emma Sage’s third name comes from, her Great-grandfathers name was
Alexander and we decided to add Alexandra to her name to honor her
great-grandfather and the location of his death and her birth] Anyway, I truly
believe that the dreams I kept having were a premonition to prepare us for
birthing her alone. I also think that divine intervention was there, keeping her
birth a peaceful and joyous occasion and not one that was over-run by medical
inquiry. We were the ones to deliver her and welcome her into this world. I was
the one who said upon her birth as I raised her up in my arms to my chest “Oh,
look honey, she does have Down syndrome!”……..The children were there and we were
a family.<br />
<br />
We got to ride to the hospital in an ambulance and waiting
there at the emergency entrance was my mother, my sister and Peggy, my midwife.
Peggy looked at me and said “If it is nothing you can send me home?” and laughed
out loud because Emma Sage was delivered into our world within 14 minutes of my
telling her that.<br />
<br />
Because Emma Sage was born outside the hospital she was
considered a ‘dirty baby’ and had to stay with us [I would have had it no other
way, but because of her Down syndrome if she had been born at the hospital they
would have taken her away from me…..so see I told you there were greater forces
at hand helping us at her birth!]……we all laugh to this day about her being the
‘dirty baby who was born in a BATHTUB!’<br />
<br />
I knew right away she had Down
syndrome and my midwife and sister both said that they too thought she did….we
had many doctors come in to take a peek at her. I was scared at first because
she was <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15">hypotonic</span>
and chilly so they had a warmer brought in for her….she <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16">wouldn</span>’t latch on to nurse
right away [even though she did on the ambulance ride over] and went into a
deep, deep sleep. I started pumping right away because I would not allow them to
supplement her with formula. She would nurse from a syringe those first 24 hours
and then she latched on and has been a champion nurser ever since [I still
breastfeed her and will most likely continue till she is 4 or 5 [that is if she
wants too!] like I nursed all of her siblings.<br />
<br />
There are so many things
that have happened since Emma Sage entered into our world. She was the source of
comfort for everyone in our family the week following her birth, when my brother
tragically died. She filled every ones arms with love and hope. She carried our
whole family through that very sad time.<br />
<br />
If Emma Sage had not been born
with Down syndrome, I would have been at the World Trade Center on
September 11, 2001 [I was scheduled to attend a conference where a few of my
friends perished] but I refused to leave her.<br />
<br />
When we were in Montreal
the summer after she was born we had this older gentleman walk right up to us
[Emma Sage was in my sling so you <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_17">couldn</span>’t really see her but the top of her
head] he placed his hand right on her and said “you have a very special baby
here” We looked at this kind, old stranger and said “thank you, we think she is
very special” and he said “No, she is very special and will touch many peoples
lives…..I’m not positive how she will do it, but she will touch so many
people”……the kids and I took a moment to think about what he said and he smiled
and walked away……we looked back to the park were he was headed and could see him
anywhere. To this day I believe he was a messenger. And I must agree with him.
In Emma Sage’s short two years of life, she has touched so many people. Her
bright smile, her sweet disposition and charm captures everyone she meets. I
know her life will be filled with inspiring others, because she inspires us
every day.<br />
<br />
<br />
I can not imagine our lives with out Emma Sage. She has brought so
much love and laughter, faith and compassion to our family. She has brought enlightenment and frustration. She has brought wisdom and understanding. She has brought perspective and clarity. She teaches me lessons about life everyday. We are truly blessed
by the gift of Emma Sage!<br />
<br />
Celebrating Down syndrome .........as having Emma Sage in my life has truly made me aware of the sacredness of our lives and that each journey is magical.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12628921554027431376noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8656694.post-83304887328350612762013-01-03T19:16:00.000-08:002013-01-03T20:28:42.775-08:00Farm Kings<strong><em></em></strong><br />
<strong><em>"Mom, come quick!"</em></strong> Emma Sage shouts out to me from the other room.<br />
<br />
My Mother's heart always pauses when I hear a cry out for me ~ unexpected and said with great <strong><em>urgency!</em>.</strong><br />
<br />
I go quickly to see what she needs.<br />
<span class="text_exposed_show"></span><br />
<span class="text_exposed_show">She is watching TV......with the biggest smile on her face.<br /> <br /> <strong><em>"Look, Look"</em></strong> she continues pointing to the screen. <strong><em>"He has Down syndrome just like ME!!!"</em></strong><br /> <br /> I look towards the TV wondering what she is talking about.<br /><br /> All I see on the TV are these male Gods, with golden locks and muscles only a hard working man can develop.......picking corn. <br /> <br /> Being of Farming Heritage.......I'm instantly in love. <br /> <br /> I wait, and sure enough, one of these strapping young men is sporting an extra chromsome on his 21st pair. <br /> <br /> Farm Kings.<br /> <br /> I had no clue. <br /><br /> My little girl stumbled upon a show that I think this Momma who does not watch TV ~ might just find the time ~ to sit down and watch with her little girl.<br /> <br /> Farm Kings? Who Knew?</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12628921554027431376noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8656694.post-48222456786168100362012-12-21T10:05:00.002-08:002012-12-21T10:05:13.614-08:00A must see......<br />
<br />
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/5M--xOyGUX4" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12628921554027431376noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8656694.post-49932965629120562392012-10-17T10:44:00.001-07:002012-10-17T12:11:47.683-07:0031 for 21 -~ Day Seventeen<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;"><em>“A character is defined by the kinds of challenges he cannot walk
away from. And by those he has walked away from that cause him remorse.”</em></span> </span></span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">― Arthur Miller<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Today is Arthur Miller’s birthday.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #444444; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-size: small;">For nearly
six decades of his life, Miller created characters that wrestled with power
conflicts, personal and social responsibility, the repercussions of past
actions, and the twin poles of guilt and hope</span>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: #444444; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I look at the above quote and I wonder about the personal
struggles Arthur Miller, the man, had in his own life.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: #444444; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">You see, the Pulitzer Prize and multiple Tony Awards
winner who always put into question "death and betrayal and injustice and
how we are to account for this little life of ours." had a secret that he
lived with from 1966 until his death in 2005.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: #444444; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Arthur Miller and his third wife,Inge Morath, had a son
named Daniel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Daniel was born with an
extra chromosome. Daniel had Down syndrome.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He was born in November 1966 and at a week old, was placed in an
institution and removed from Arthur Miller’s life.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: #444444; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">It has been noted that Inge wanted to keep the baby, but
Miller was adamant that it had to be sent away. Daniel was institutionalized
soon after his birth, spent his infancy at an institution in New York City, and
the entire rest of his childhood at the Southbury Training School for retarded
children in Connecticut. In an article in Vanity Fair, it is reported that Inge
visited the boy regularly at Southbury, but his father never did, and
eliminated him from his life entirely, never mentioning his existence in public
nor in his autobiography Timebends.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: #444444; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Inge would visit her son often.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She never let him go.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: #444444; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Despite the limitations of life in Southbury, Daniel grew
up to be a very bright and charismatic young man.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: #444444; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Arthur Miller's decision was entirely common for
people of his time and for society at large. Whereas, I had not the slightest
hesitation ever about raising Emma Sage at home, my generation was very different
in this regard from my parents' generation. Among the generation that grew up
before World War II, it was normal to institutionalize developmentally disabled
children, and in fact physicians often advised parents to do so. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: #444444; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Arthur Miller, born in 1916, belonged to the generation
which carried this mindset. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: #444444; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Different axioms lead in a different direction,
regardless of propriety. Anne de Gaulle, born in 1928 with Down syndrome, was
the daughter of the young officer Charles de Gaulle and his wife Yvonne. Anne
was never separated from her parents throughout her life, and her father always
made time to spend with her. Famously chilly and formal in public, the General
was reputed to be warmer and more outgoing with Anne. When she died at the
family home of Colombey-les-Deux-Eglises, General de Gaulle said simply:
"Maintenant, elle est comme les autres." [Now, she is like the
others.]<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: #444444; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">What produced these remarkable post-WWII changes in
conventional social attitudes?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don't understand how it took place in
detail. But, like everything else associated with the "baby boom"
generation, the clues must lie in the 1960s and 1970s, during which I spent my
childhood and youth.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: #444444; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Whilst the change has shifted to embrace our children
with Down syndrome, the underlying fear of disability is still alive and well
in our society.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our children are out in
the light……they are Living, Loving, Growing and Thriving and they are valued
members of our families and communities.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: #444444; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">But there still lies darkness; as Eugenics is still ever
present, especially in regards to the prenatal diagnosis of Trisomy 21/Down
syndrome.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: #444444; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Today we celebrate the birth of a man who wrote with
conscience, clarity and compassion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A
man for whom it was not discovered until after his death held a powerful and
tragic secret. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: #444444; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><em><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">“A character is defined by the kinds of challenges he
cannot walk away from. And by those he has walked away from that cause him
remorse.” ― Arthur Miller<o:p></o:p></span></em></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: #444444; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Just before his death, Miller did something that indicates
that he was validating his son.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>By acknowledging
him by changing his Will to include Daniel as his rightful heir and son.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A full quarter share of the estate, no more or
no less than his three siblings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is
also noted that Miller visiting his son in the last years of his life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In my heart-of-hearts, I hope that is true.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: #444444; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The most important part of this story is that Daniel
transcended his father's failures: "He's made a life for himself; he is
deeply valued and very, very loved. What a loss for Arthur Miller that he
couldn't see how extraordinary his son is." States the woman who Daniel
has lived with most of his adult life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: #444444; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">It was a loss that Arthur Miller may have understood
better than he let on………and I wonder if this story could have been Arthur
Miller’s greatest unwritten play.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: #444444; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span> </div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><em>"Maybe all one can do is hope to end up with the right regrets." ~Arthur Miller</em></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: #444444; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small;"><br /><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: small;">Click Here for the Vanity Fair article:</span> <a href="http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2007/09/miller200709" target="_blank">Arthur Miller's Missing Act</a></span></span></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12628921554027431376noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8656694.post-9130740361133385012012-10-17T10:22:00.001-07:002012-10-17T10:22:51.825-07:0031 for 21 - Day SixteenAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12628921554027431376noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8656694.post-12049021473557298582012-10-15T21:03:00.003-07:002012-10-15T21:03:51.893-07:0031 for 21 - Day Fifteen<strong><em><span style="font-size: 130%;">"One's Sister is a part of one's essential self, an eternal presence of one's heart and soul and memory."~Susan Cabill </span></em></strong><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/annikaleigh/152749819/" title="Photo Sharing"><img alt="Sisters being silly" height="500" src="http://static.flickr.com/76/152749819_861564b78b.jpg" width="375" /></a><br />
<br />
<strong><em><span style="font-size: 130%;">"Chance made us Sisters, hearts made us friends."~ Author Unknown</span></em></strong><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/annikaleigh/152749820/" title="Photo Sharing"><img alt="Sisters being silly 2" height="422" src="http://static.flickr.com/73/152749820_b310a4f872.jpg" width="500" /></a><br />
<br />
<strong><em><span style="font-size: 130%;">"A sister is a little bit of childhood that can never be lost."~Marion C. Garrett</span></em></strong>y<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/annikaleigh/152749821/" title="Photo Sharing"><img alt="Sisters being silly 3" height="483" src="http://static.flickr.com/75/152749821_618dcf0e4f.jpg" width="500" /></a><br />
<br />
<strong><em><span style="font-size: 130%;">"There's a special kind of freedom sisters enjoy. Freedom to share innermost thoughts, to ask a favor, to show their true feelings. The freedom to simply be themselves." ~Anonymous </span></em></strong><br />
<strong><em><span style="font-size: 130%;"></span></em></strong><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/annikaleigh/152749822/" title="Photo Sharing"><img alt="Sisters being silly 4" height="500" src="http://static.flickr.com/48/152749822_9325fb2fe4.jpg" width="484" /></a><br />
<br />
<strong><em><span style="font-size: 130%;">"Is solace anywhere more comforting than that in the arms of a sister"~Alice Walker </span></em></strong><br />
<strong><em><span style="font-size: 130%;"></span></em></strong><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/annikaleigh/152749823/" title="Photo Sharing"><img alt="Sisters being silly 5" height="500" src="http://static.flickr.com/75/152749823_b5c1e0816e.jpg" width="375" /></a><br />
<br />
<br />
Celebrating Sisters. Emma Sage has been missing her Greta, so for today's 31 for 21, I thought I would post a moment in time of them sharing their special bond of 'Sisterhood'<br />
<br />
<br />
<strong><em><span style="font-size: 130%;"></span></em></strong><br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12628921554027431376noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8656694.post-1062114688797430362012-10-15T20:31:00.000-07:002012-10-15T20:34:18.843-07:0031 for 21 ~ Day Fourteen<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b><span style="font-family: Calibri;">21 Things you might or might not know about Emma Sage <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Get It Down~31 for 21 .....and a good way to learn a little
bit more about our pixie.</span></div>
<br />
<ol start="1" style="margin-top: 0in;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">We
knew, but we didn't know that Emma Sage had T21 during my pregnancy. I had
premonitions and 'soft markers' and in my heart of hearts I knew.</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">You
are more than welcome to laugh about the 'premonitions' but they were
actually right on and more accurate than the ultra sound scans.</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">This
was the first layer of preparation I had for embracing my daughters Down
syndrome diagnosis.</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Emma
Sage was born at home in the bath tub.</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">No, it
was not a planned home-birth, but again, this child has brought many
pleasant surprises into our lives......and I hope that never changes.</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I was
the first to say "Oh look, she does have Down syndrome"</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">It
took over 24 hours before anyone at the hospital confirmed my original
diagnosis of T21....they all came and looked, but no one said anything. My
sister and my Midwife both agreed with me that she had Down syndrome, but
we did not have a doctor come and talk to us about the possibility for a
day. </span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">That
was fine by me, as my only focus was getting her to nurse.</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Emma
Sage finally latched on and nursed almost 24 hours after her birth [even
though she did latch on and nurse in the ambulance ride to the hospital. Emma
Sage nursed until she was 3 years and 10 months old.</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Her
favorite food is.........everything. This child loves to eat, from salad,
to soup, to sushi, to pizza......you name it, and she will try it.</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Emma
Sage loves to dance and has been taking dance lessons since she was three</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Her
first dance studio was our first experience with discrimination ~ her current dance studio </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">is
the epitome of inclusion and positive forward thinking.</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Emma
Sage is now a 5<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup> grader in middle school.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She has a locker and loves school</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">She is
an awesome reader and excels at math [and this fact both delights me and
surprises me]</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">She
plays the drums in her school band.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She tells me she is going to play in an all girls rock-n-roll band
someday. </span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">When she
gets tired she turns into a bear, Thank goodness she doesn’t get tired too
often</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Emma
Sage love to ride horses, her instructor told me that the easiest thing
for her to do would be to limit her, but instead she took a leap of faith
and this child trots and canters on her own.</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Emma
Sage loves to model.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She has
appeared in print media 14 times, including the Toys R Us big book.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">When
she was seven she was proposed to.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We told her she had to wait till she was 24 to get married [she
never lets me forget that fact]</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Emma Sage
is funny, witty and can be very sarcastic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This is quite refreshing and at times annoying, as she loves to
yank my chains.</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Emma
Sage has always defied the statistics......she is her own unique person
and we couldn’t imagine life without her.</span></li>
</ol>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.5in;">
<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12628921554027431376noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8656694.post-58402519846619062832012-10-15T19:44:00.002-07:002012-10-15T19:44:57.278-07:0031 for 21 - Day Thirteen<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b><span style="color: #06423d; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">" Think of me first as a
person who hurts and loves and feels joy,”</span></b><span style="color: #06423d; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"> <br />
--Dwight Core Sr.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="color: #06423d; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">My favorite child.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="color: #06423d; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Dwight Core, Jr. the fifth child of the
Core family and their first son.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is
a documentary that was made from home videos and current day filming that now
resides in the Library of Congress.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The home movie, "Think of Me First as
a Person," portrays the love a boy with Down syndrome shares with his four
sisters, but also a heartache common to the era's disabled: leaving home for an
institution.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I was born a few years after Dwight Core,
Jr.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It breaks my heart to think of the
society I was born into and how children with disabilities were encouraged to
be placed into institutions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We have
come a long way in North America.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">That is not so in other parts of our
world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have dear friends who are
working with those societies that place their children with disabilities into
orphanages at birth and sadder yet, these children are destined to horrible
institutions if they are not adopted by a certain age.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are working tirelessly to change those society’s
perceptions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A daunting task, but one I
know can change, as look at how far we have come as a society.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">This is a must watch……..<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
Part One
<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/YM1cPOzK7IA" width="420"></iframe>
Part Two
<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/OHUGQ_4SWQA" width="420"></iframe>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12628921554027431376noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8656694.post-51929264256882284672012-10-15T10:05:00.003-07:002012-10-15T10:05:32.922-07:0031 for 21 - Day Twelve<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrnlmRJ1pIomcjGitE_oq9tKMStRlfDTbJEJy9Isq_MAMTT27cXFOHp57CA0RR8HoWPyeaiRPDR-0aA5ulxmihvaLW-HJJIrSogiNww7xBjdBVWFpwSo383aGlwsE5RQcaCi7e/s1600/2984784161_718ba3a05b_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="444" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrnlmRJ1pIomcjGitE_oq9tKMStRlfDTbJEJy9Isq_MAMTT27cXFOHp57CA0RR8HoWPyeaiRPDR-0aA5ulxmihvaLW-HJJIrSogiNww7xBjdBVWFpwSo383aGlwsE5RQcaCi7e/s640/2984784161_718ba3a05b_o.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
The Power of Siblings.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12628921554027431376noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8656694.post-68941306532109751002012-10-11T21:16:00.003-07:002012-10-11T21:16:20.510-07:0031 for 21 ~ Day Eleven
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><a href="http://davehingsburger.blogspot.com/2008/12/storey-man.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #465834;">'The StoreyMan' </span></a>it is a must read, really it is.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Y</span>ou see, it is a story about David Hingsburger, who is a disabilities rights
advocate and his <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>meeting a young man in
London named Steven Storey and how he views disability [his to be exact] and
other wonderful things. The first thing that made me smile from ear to ear is
the photograph of Steven, as he is holding a pint of beer.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">N</span>ow I know you might think that is a funny thing to make me smile, but it
is........because that was one of the weird things that crossed my mind when I
was pregnant with Emma Sage [yes, pregnant] was the fact that I wondered if she
would ever grow up to enjoy a glass of wine or a nice cold beer [or follow in
her Momma's footsteps and have a passion for a Margarita once in a while]<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For some strange reason, I always had this
misconception that people with disabilities didn't drink. Don't ask me how that
misconception crept into my mind, but it was there. The other big misconception
I held was on the topic of S.E.X........yes, for some strange reason I'm a
prude. Lol!!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Actually I'm not, far from
it, but the thought of a healthy physical and emotional relationship was
another topic that I really never thought about for Emma Sage given her
diagnosis of Down syndrome.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Weird I
know.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How uneducated and misinformed I
had been.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><span style="font-size: large;">P</span>eople with Down
syndrome are just that....people. They happen to have an extra chromosome on
their 21st pair of chromosomes. This causes some common traits [phenotypes] amongst
people with Down syndrome, but it is not all encompassing and each person with
Down syndrome is as unique of a human being as any of us are.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They look and act more like their families
than they would look or act like another non-family member with Down syndrome.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">E</span>ach of us brings to this world our own special gifts........each of us has our
own destiny to fulfill.......our own dreams to dream and achieve<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>~~~ people with Down syndrome are no
different than any of us in this regard……they tell jokes, they drink beer, they
have relationships.<br clear="all" />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">S</span>ee how much I have learned in 11 short years!!!!!!<br />
<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12628921554027431376noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8656694.post-47504459430724628272012-10-10T21:03:00.000-07:002012-10-10T21:03:39.426-07:0031 for 21 - Day Ten<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/annikaleigh/182586647/" title="My creation by annikaleigh, on Flickr"><img alt="My creation" height="500" src="http://farm1.staticflickr.com/54/182586647_42ba0bd120.jpg" width="400" /></a>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">There was a
wonderful article in the April 23, 2007 issue of <a href="http://www.people.com/"><span style="color: #465834;">People
magazine </span></a>titled </span><em><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 15.5pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">“Finding my son at the Zoo”</span></em><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"> that touched me on so many levels.<br />
<br />
One line rang so true for me.<br />
<br />
<em><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">“That awful night I wrestled with the idea of
grief and realized it simply wasn’t my instinct.”</span></em><br />
<br />
The author, Thomas Fields-Meyer is talking about a moment in his life, just
after receiving the diagnosis of Autism for his son Ezra, he and his wife,
Rabbi Shawn Fields-Meyer were sitting at the therapist’s office when the
counselor said to them…..<br />
<br />
<em><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">“You need to mourn”</span></em><i><br />
</i><br />
<em><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">“For whom?”</span></em> I asked<br />
<br />
<em><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">“For the child he didn’t turn out to be.”</span></em>
The author and father goes on to say….<br />
<br />
<em><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">“I have never carried preconceived notions of
what my children would become, and to this day, I have not wept over Ezra.”</span></em><i><br />
</i><br />
My heart leaped for <em><b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">JOY</span></b></em>
when I read this article, because Tom Fields-Meyer put into words exactly how I
feel and exactly how I have experienced life since Emma Sage entered into it.<br />
<br />
I have always looked at people as individuals and I don’t think I have ever
lumped a group or experience into a blanketed statement…..which brings me to
one that I hear [read] often online in articles or groups related to Down
syndrome. Even the famous poem 'Welcome to Holland'<span style="color: #465834;"> </span>alludes
to the fact that one will ‘always’ mourn the loss of the child you did not have
[after having a child born with or developed a disability]. That it is a loss
that <a href="http://www.ndsccenter.org/resources/package1.php"><span style="color: #465834;">“And the pain
of that will never, ever, ever, ever go away...because the loss of that dream
is a very significant loss.”<br />
</span></a><br />
I cringe when I read or hear people make a ‘blanket’ statement……“Everyone grieves at
the diagnosis of T21” or “people who say they never grieved are in denial”<br />
<br />
I personally think that ‘blankets’ are great on beds, but should never be used
as a statement to group an experience that is so unique and individual in one’s
life journey.<br />
<br />
I do understand that some people [and that could be many, many people] grieve
at the diagnosis of T21, and some take a long time to reach a point of
acceptance,,,,and even some [as the poem states] carry that grief with them
their whole life journey….and that is part of their journey.....but it is not
everyone's journey. <br />
<br />
For me [and for the author Tom Fields-Meyer] my journey has been a spiritual
one…..Emma Sage is exactly who she is supposed to be….and for that I celebrate.
Yes, I work with her day in and day out…to help her develop all the skills she
needs to live in our world, but that is not a form of grief or denial….it is
what I believe all Mothers do. We nurture and care for our children, all of our
children, helping them grow and develop into the best they possibly can be. <br />
<br />
The author writes about life with Ezra as a spiritual journey……my spiritual
journey with Emma Sage began at her conception. I knew exactly the moment I
conceived her ~ as I felt her soul enter into my body. One of the most powerful
and profound experiences of my life….I remember telling my Mother a few days
later about the experience and telling her about the incredible sense of peace
I felt because this experience solidified my belief that our souls are eternal.
At that point I did not even have a confirmed pregnancy test ~ I just knew in
my heart of her existence because her soul was just so powerful that she was
the one to tell me that she was on her way into our world.<br />
<br />
This spiritual journey is part of my daily life….this little soul just
radiates….she teaches me daily about love and understanding…..she helps me see
the miracles that surround us, a bird sailing through the sky, a tree toad
croaking off in the distance….a wild flower – so tiny – so small – so
perfect…..and at this moment right now in time…..nestled up next to me on the
bed, her book and glasses off to the side. I sit mesmerized and in awe of her, watching her soft breathes flickering the
covers as she sleeps soundly with Momma!”</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12628921554027431376noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8656694.post-1631186071913149222012-10-09T19:51:00.002-07:002012-10-09T19:51:12.457-07:0031 for 21 - Day Nine<a href="http://blog.palsprograms.org/" target="_blank">Camp PALS</a><br />
Camp PALS West<br />
PALS Tours<br />
<br />
and this upcoming year,<br />
<br />
Camp PALS Chicago<br />
<br />
<br />
A flu bug has got a hold of this Momma, but for today's post, I wanted to start my discussion of a program that is beyond amazing.<br />
<br />
My daughters met the founding directors of PALS the summer of 2004 when we were at the National Down syndrome Congress's conference in Minneapolis.<br />
<br />
They immediately became friends. Katrina was the first of my children to get involved in the original program that was PALS [Peer Assisted Learning Support] and became the national director of high school programs.<br />
<br />
The next summer she began volunteering as a councilor at Camp PALS.<br />
<br />
Two years later when she was old enough to volunteer, Greta became a counselor.<br />
<br />
Each summer since they are back at Camp PALS volunteering [and it is the highlight of their year]<br />
<br />
Katrina began counseling at PALS Tours the year the program began and now does both Camp PALS and PALS tours.<br />
<br />
Greta boarded a plane this summer and headed out to California for the inaugural year of Camp PALS West [and had the time of her life] So she now volunteers for both Camp PALS Original [East coast] and Camp PALS West.<br />
<br />
and this past summer my Otto is now old enough to volunteer........<br />
<br />
So I had three of my children at Camp PALS. <br />
<br />
My heart swells with such pride and joy.<br />
<br />
Next year Emma Sage will be attending Camp PALS as a camper [we go each year to the dance and she gets to be an 'honorary camper' but not next year.....it is the real deal for her.<br />
<br />
So please take a moment to watch this video [and when I am feeling better I will write more about Camp PALS, as it truly is an amazing entity [it is like it has a spirit all its own]<br />
<br />
Peace and love, Tara Marie [who is one sick gal]<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/hFMjgmz42zw" width="560"></iframe>
P.S.watch for my Greta in this one.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12628921554027431376noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8656694.post-63281641447937372602012-10-08T19:43:00.000-07:002012-10-08T19:43:51.572-07:0031 for 21 - Day EightFour years ago, on the first list serve I joined when I was pregnant with Emma
Sage, a Mother posted a thread that touched my heart in many ways.<br /><br />I
e-mailed the author of the post to first, say <strong><em>"Hello"</em></strong>
and that I was so glad that she came out of 'just read' and posted to all of us
on the list.<br /><br />Her words are very poignant and speak for so many in our
community ~ A community of Mothers, Fathers, Family, Friends who love and care
about someone that has Down syndrome.<br /><br />During this month, I have been
sharing Emma Sage and her day-to-day adventures. I have also been sharing links
that I have come across and news articles.....but I do believe that this post
will be my most important post in sharing during Down syndrome Awareness Month
[thanks to the permission of the author.......and my new friend, Mary
Beth]<br /><br />As you read this post, know that even though some of our children
have greater struggles than others, each and everyone of our children are our
blessings and are loved dearly........and we are above all a
community.<br /><br /><em><strong>Dear Friends,<br /><br />Although I go back many years
as a member of this list, I have mostly been reading only for a long time. Like
many others, my 18 year old son has autism as well as Down syndrome.<br /><br />As
we enter the closing stages of "Down Syndrome Awareness Month", I wanted to take
a moment to ask you to be aware of the entire community of those of us with Down
syndrome or living with someone with <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">DS</span>.<br /><br />I know that there are families out
there who have such seriously ill loved ones with <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">DS</span> who simply don't feel like celebrating much
of anything right now. Those of us who have seen our loved ones though a
life-threatening illness ourselves- can we take some time to just be with those
families? And if our loved one with <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">DS</span> has never had such a crisis, all the more
reason to see if there is some way you can show your gratitude- by reaching out
that helping hand.<br /><br />Some of us have that family member with Down syndrome
who is grown, or nearly so- and does not speak using words. True conversations
will never be a reality. All the speech therapy in the world will not make it
so. For these families it can be a stretch to want to join in with a charming
list of accomplishments or funny anecdotes. For these families, celebrating
<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">DS</span> awareness month
means that some people care enough to learn the signs or communication methods
that facilitate other ways to communicate.<br /><br />Some of us have a loved one
with <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">DS</span> who "still"
is not walking- or not using the toilet independently, or not able to eat be
unhooked from a feeding tube, or eat what everyone else commonly eats. Some have
a chronic and debilitating illness (such as diabetes or the effects of a stroke
or other illness) that requires monitoring their health and well-being- 24/7.
Down Syndrome Awareness month might mean taking time to slow down so that these
loved ones can have their personal hygiene and/or dietary/and/or movement needs
attended to with dignity and the extra time required.<br /><br />Some of us have a
loved one with <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">DS</span> who
is not able to leave the house due to agoraphobia or other anxieties, or perhaps
has behaviors that cause injuries to self or others. I know that there are
families on this list who have not been able to leave their loved one with <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">DS</span> even for a few hours -
for over 20 years. Some of that is due to lack of funds but some of it is due to
lack of energy to go find and train the right support person. Do you know of a
family like this in your local <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">DS</span> community?<br /><br />Some of us have a loved
one with <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">DS</span> who will
not be going to college after high school. We have a young adult with <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">DS</span> who lives with us who
does not comprehend what a job entails, or that you need money to buy stuff, or
cannot work with more than one or two others nearby. Some of us have a loved one
with <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">DS</span> who loved
being in school but became lost after those full, planned days were behind them.
They saw their siblings or classmates move away and then the constraining arm of
lack of people support, financial support, transportation support, etc., cast a
harsh light on an uncertain future. Or their own self awareness about having
Down syndrome makes it unlikely that they will drive a car or have a baby or,
or, or....and the depression crashes down and colors everything quite
differently.<br /><br />This is not to diminish or downplay <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">anyone's</span> accomplishments
or dreams for the best possible future. In truth, I LOVE hearing my friends
share their stories and I love the "brags" - most of the time. I don't want to
rain on my friends' parades with sorry stories of my son's life sounding -um, a
little grim some days. But my friends who have e-mailed or called saying,"are
things going any better? Can we get together for a little fun? Or just, "I am
sending virtual chocolate by the case!" just acknowledge that my son's
accomplishments are going to look quite different by comparison.<br /><br />So help
us celebrate every step forward, even if it be millimeters and not feet. Call us
if we haven't been seen at community events for a while, or if our child is now
in a segregated school program due to that thing that happened last school
year.<br /><br />My reason for writing this is that I am ALWAYS aware of our somehow
having to declare our children's "worthiness", for lack of a better word. We are
always declaring that they CAN talk, walk, make good choices, go to college, get
a job, live on their own, etc. We take offense at anyone implying that the vast
majority of people with <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">trisomy</span> 21 are developmentally disabled, (oops,
wrong <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">lable</span>) -or
cognitively impaired (well, can't use that word impaired, either....) We decide
to take offense if someone wonders out loud if our children are taking "life
skills" instead of academic courses, or if they are doing those demeaning jobs
that "no one else wants", [so our kids shouldn't either], or that we should
insist that they go on to college, even though the last few years of high school
were a bust.<br /><br />We ARE afraid to say very much about some of the tough spots
some of us face, because we don't want to scare the new parents. (And I don't
blame us for not wanting to do that, but...) we can't pretend that everyone will
grow up to be the prom queen or nationally known actor or even the young adult
that hits the speaking circuit with their mom or dad for their local <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">DS</span> association.<br /><br />I
suggest to parents of very young children with <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15">DS</span>: get to meet adults with <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16">DS</span>, and their parents and
families, if you can. Spend time with them and cultivate a relationship with
them. While their early childhood experiences will not be the same as the
opportunities afforded yours, you will likely get the stories that can help you
along the way for what your child's future might look like.<br /><br />Most
importantly, you will find that some families who appear to face the most
daunting challenges somehow find a way to laugh, or develop or a sense of dark
humor, or deep faith, or other way to cope. Some families do succumb to what
seems like insurmountable pressures and challenges.<br /><br />During Down Syndrome
Awareness month, how can we simply walk with some of our <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_17">DS</span> community members who
struggle or have dropped out because they have lost their sense of belonging?
Perhaps the simple act of calling that mom you haven't seen for the past year
and asking " how are you doing these days?" and then listening could be the
first step to your own awareness in a new way.<br /><br /><br />God Bless Us, Every
One!<br /><br /><br />Mary Beth Paul<br /><br /><br />PS. The most amazing book that should
be on every new and old parent's must read list is Mental Wellness in Adults
with Down Syndrome. Google the title for more info. Its authors paint a loving,
practical, and very real portrait of the similarities and variations among those
with T21.<br /><br /></strong></em>Reprinted with permission from the
author.<br /><br /><br />Mary Beth......Thank you! Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12628921554027431376noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8656694.post-13819414063751179732012-10-07T20:18:00.001-07:002012-10-07T20:18:55.747-07:0031 for 21 - Day Seven<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/annikaleigh/8065473012/" title="78115908_4431aba594_o by annikaleigh, on Flickr"><img alt="78115908_4431aba594_o" height="388" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8312/8065473012_2203b21093.jpg" width="500" /></a>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<em><b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 15.5pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Welcome to Holland</span></b></em><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><br />
<em><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Emily Perl Kingsley 1987. All rights reserved.</span></em><i><br />
<br />
</i>I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with a
disability - to try to help people who have not shared that unique experience
to understand it, to imagine how it would feel. It's like this......<br />
<br />
When you're going to have a baby, it's like planning a fabulous vacation trip -
to Italy. You buy a bunch of guide books and make your wonderful plans. The
Coliseum. The Michelangelo David. The gondolas in Venice. You may learn some
handy phrases in Italian. It's all very exciting.<br />
<br />
After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack your bags
and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands. The stewardess comes in
and says, "Welcome to Holland."<br />
<br />
"Holland?!?" you say. "What do you mean Holland?? I signed up
for Italy! I'm supposed to be in Italy. All my life I've dreamed of going to
Italy."<br />
<br />
But there's been a change in the flight plan. They've landed in Holland and
there you must stay.<br />
<br />
The important thing is that they haven't taken you to a horrible, disgusting,
filthy place, full of pestilence, famine and disease. It's just a different
place.<br />
<br />
So you must go out and buy new guide books. And you must learn a whole new
language. And you will meet a whole new group of people you would never have
met.<br />
<br />
It's just a different place. It's slower-paced than Italy, less flashy than
Italy. But after you've been there for a while and you catch your breath, you
look around.... and you begin to notice that Holland has windmills....and
Holland has tulips. Holland even has Rembrandts.<br />
<br />
But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy... and they're all
bragging about what a wonderful time they had there. And for the rest of your
life, you will say "Yes, that's where I was supposed to go. That's what I
had planned."<br />
<br />
And the pain of that will never, ever, ever, ever go away...because the loss of
that dream is a very very significant loss. But...if you spend your life
mourning the fact that you didn't get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy
the very special, the very lovely things ... about Holland.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<br />
I also love this reading of the essay.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/RqGQjoTn2xY" width="560"></iframe><br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12628921554027431376noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8656694.post-14518074125674617372012-10-06T20:35:00.001-07:002012-10-06T20:36:02.756-07:0031 for 21 ~ Day Six<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/annikaleigh/8061510074/" title="3981794621_7b28d82709_o by annikaleigh, on Flickr"><img alt="3981794621_7b28d82709_o" height="375" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8318/8061510074_58df94fb48.jpg" width="500" /></a><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em>"If we could see the miracle of a single flower
clearly, our whole life would change." ~Buddha<o:p></o:p></em></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Indulge me for a moment, and imagine yourself to be a violet
growing smack dab in the middle of a beautiful bed of daisies -- and all of
your (short) life, the multitude of daisies surrounding you seem frustrated
that you are different. They try endlessly, and to the best of their abilities
to turn your into a daisy, despite the fact that you, while very similar in
many ways, are also very different than the other flowers who share your life.
Would it serve you to try to be a daisy when it is clearly true that you aren't
one, and never will be? How would it feel when the well-intentioned daisies
around you continually insist that you look and act more like a daisy than the
violet that you truly are? And, have you ever picked a violet and suddenly
found yourself wishing that it were a daisy instead? Wouldn't you be glad of
its' violetness, and that be sufficient, or rather exquisite, in and of itself?
Is it any different with people?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I imagine, dear teacher, your mind is now thinking, well,
this world is predominantly of, for and by the daisies. And true, you have
generously and with much self-sacrifice spent a good deal of your time
patiently teaching the violet a few daisy tricks, so that she can function
effectively in the daisy bed. After all, she is growing there. And my point is,
that if she has to deny her essence as a violet, there is no value at all in
learning daisy skills. If daisy skills, however are optional, and she can be
accepted as the violet that she is, she will gracefully and sweetly unfold into
the fullness of her beauty, warmed by the sun, and nurtured by the trust and
open-heartedness of her surrounding daisies.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><em><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">**Violets, beloved friend and teacher, are NOT impaired
daisies.**</span></em> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><a href="http://pex.tripod.com/violets.html" target="_blank">Excerpt from: VIOLETS and DAISIES by Kay Drais</a> ~ </span>Which is one of my most favorite essays on Inclusion.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12628921554027431376noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8656694.post-29923245632554851052012-10-05T20:12:00.000-07:002012-10-05T20:12:10.238-07:0031 for 21 - Day Five<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">I love
October.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Always have.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">Because of Emma
Sage, and her very acute observations of life and living each day fully, I love it even more now.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">The air is more
palpable to me….I sense the coolness, the early morning mist and the warm
Indian Summer days….sometimes all within a 24 hour period.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I savor it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">The colors are
more vivid and intense.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I get giddy at
seeing trees change right in front of my eyes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">I notice the
last days of harvesting with a fond remembrance of my grandfather and the
bushels of treats that abound when he was alive.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">Of pumpkins
bigger than you can imagine…..and decorating for Halloween which always brings
me delight.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I love magic and wonder and
October is filled with it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">It is also Down syndrome
Awareness month….and now with the Internet humming with so many amazing souls,
the awareness is taken to greater heights….of so much positive energy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">I feel so alive.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">So today, as the
phenotype of Brushfield spots popped up again and again on my Facebook feed, it
made me recall a post that I did 7 years ago for 31 for 2 1.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>[Sweet Maddy who is picture below had the
most incredible Brushfield spots.]<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">It is amazing
how much has changed [and sadly, how much has remained the same in seven years]<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">The topic was of
editorials that still run of perpetuating the myth that Down syndrome is
something that is ‘unfortunate’ and the prenatal tests that were just emerging
at the time….to test earlier and earlier in gestation so that woman may opt to
terminate at a time frame that is considered ‘easier and less evasive’.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Let’s
just say this.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No woman who has ever had an abortion will
tell you that it is ever easy or non- evasive.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It cuts at the very heart and soul of a woman.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some pro-abortion activists will lead you to
believe otherwise, but the truth of the matter is this.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Abortion hurts women at the time of the
procedure and decades later their souls are still tattered.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Trust me on this one.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">So I leave you
here at the beginning of a post I wrote 7 years ago.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">I remember with
love all my friends whose precious children have left us too early…..and my
heart weeps for their loss.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">***~~***~~*** written 7 years ago.....</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">During the last
few days I have reflected on the whole situation with Indy's Child magazine and
editorials that still target our children that have Down syndrome as something
'unfortunate' and in need of earlier and earlier prenatal tests to eliminate the
burden of continuing a pregnancy that is deemed 'imperfect'.<br />
<br />
While I watched Emma Sage playing with cousins and friends, celebrating the 4th
of July, I kept thinking about all the people I have met during my journey with
Emma Sage in our life, whose beloved children with Trisomy21 have died.
Children whose lives were wanted, loved, cherished and missed dearly. <br />
<br />
I made this little banner in the memory of all of these beloved children and a
reminder to all that all children are blessings.....those with 46 chromosomes
and those with 47. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our children are
loved and wanted.....and cherished beyond what words can convey. We are
fortunate...and truly blessed.<br />
<br />
This is Maddy.............she is an angel in heaven, but the love and joy she
brought her family and friends will live on forever in their hearts.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><o:p></o:p></span> </div>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/annikaleigh/8058350982/" title="182973347_fbdf63fdce_o by annikaleigh, on Flickr"><img alt="182973347_fbdf63fdce_o" height="428" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8181/8058350982_ebbc1a5144.jpg" width="500" /></a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12628921554027431376noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8656694.post-29953547597773023202012-10-04T20:22:00.000-07:002012-10-04T20:27:23.001-07:0031 for 21 - Day Four<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/annikaleigh/2963594637/" title="sisters by annikaleigh, on Flickr"><img alt="sisters" height="387" src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3208/2963594637_9765d16afa.jpg" width="500" /></a>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/annikaleigh/2963594637/" title="sisters by annikaleigh, on Flickr"></a><br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="header">
<h2 class="me">
sar·casm</h2>
<sup></sup> <span class="pronset"><span audio="http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/dictionary/audio/luna/S01/S0102700.mp3" class="speaker" default="http://dictionary.reference.com/audio.html/lunaWAV/S01/S0102700"><noscript><a onmousedown="spk(this,{lk:'nx1fkx',en:'wotdau',io:'0',b:'wotd',tp:'lrl',m:'wotdau'})" href="#"></a><a target="_blank" href="http://dictionary.reference.com/audio.html/lunaWAV/S01/S0102700"><img border="0" src="http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/speaker.gif"></a></noscript><a class="audspk" href="http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/dictionary/audio/luna/S01/S0102700.mp3"></a></span> <span class="show_ipapr" style="display: none;"><span class="prondelim">/</span><span class="pron">ˈsɑr<span class="luna-thinspace"></span>kæz<span class="luna-thinspace"></span>əm</span><span class="prondelim">/</span> <a class="questionmark" href="http://dictionary.reference.com/help/luna/IPA_pron_key.html" target="_blank"></a> <span class="pron_toggle" style="display: inline;"><a alt="Toggle for Spelled" class="pronlink" href="http://www.blogger.com/null" title="Click to show spelled">Show Spelled</a></span></span><span class="show_spellpr" style="display: inline;"><span class="prondelim">[</span><span class="pron"><span class="boldface">sahr</span>-kaz-<span class="ital-inline">uh</span><span class="luna-thinspace"></span>m</span><span class="prondelim">]</span> <a class="questionmark" href="http://dictionary.reference.com/help/luna/Spell_pron_key.html" target="_blank"></a> <span class="pron_toggle" style="display: inline;"><a alt="Toggle for IPA" class="pronlink" href="http://www.blogger.com/null" title="Click to show IPA">Show IPA</a></span></span></span> </div>
<div class="body">
<div class="pbk">
<span class="pg"><span id="hotword"><span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="color: #333333; cursor: default;">noun</span> </span></span><br />
<div class="luna-Ent">
<span class="dnindex"><span id="hotword"><span id="hotword" name="hotword">1.</span> </span></span><br />
<div class="dndata">
<span id="hotword"><span id="hotword" name="hotword">harsh</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">or</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">bitter</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="color: #0055bb; cursor: pointer;">derision</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">or</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">irony.</span> </span></div>
</div>
<div class="luna-Ent">
<span class="dnindex"><span id="hotword"><span id="hotword" name="hotword">2.</span> </span></span><br />
<div class="dndata">
<span id="hotword"><span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="color: #333333; cursor: default;">a</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="color: #333333; cursor: default;">sharply</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="color: #333333; cursor: default;">ironical</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="color: #333333; cursor: default;">taunt;</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="color: #333333; cursor: default;">sneering</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">or</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">cutting</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">remark:</span> </span><span class="ital-inline"><span id="hotword"><span id="hotword" name="hotword">a</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">review</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">full</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">of</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">sarcasms.</span> </span></span></div>
<div class="dndata">
<span class="ital-inline"></span> </div>
<div class="dndata">
<span class="ital-inline">Yes, Sarcasm. Not a word you would typically think of when you think of someone with Down syndrome.</span></div>
<div class="dndata">
<span class="ital-inline"></span> </div>
<div class="dndata">
<span class="ital-inline">Myths abound. They are so sweet. They are so innocent. They woud never use wit, irony or sarcasm in a conversation.</span></div>
<div class="dndata">
<span class="ital-inline"></span> </div>
<div class="dndata">
<span class="ital-inline">Busted - another Myth that is.</span></div>
<div class="dndata">
<span class="ital-inline"></span> </div>
<div class="dndata">
<span class="ital-inline">Emma Sage has the most unique and loving relationships with her siblings. In her relationship with Katrina it is a 'Love - Hate' full of wit and sarcasm and absolutely hysterical.</span></div>
<div class="dndata">
<span class="ital-inline"></span> </div>
<div class="dndata">
<span class="ital-inline">Last night Katrina slept home [she is not home more than she is home these days, but not officially moved out]. As we were all getting ready for work/school I say to Katrina. </span></div>
<div class="dndata">
<span class="ital-inline"></span> </div>
<div class="dndata">
<span class="ital-inline"><strong><em>"I don't know how you do it, but you were only home for a few hours and your room looks like a tornado hit it"</em></strong></span></div>
<div class="dndata">
<span class="ital-inline"></span> </div>
<div class="dndata">
<span class="ital-inline">to which she replys <strong><em>"I'll clean it"</em></strong></span></div>
<div class="dndata">
<span class="ital-inline"></span> </div>
<div class="dndata">
<span class="ital-inline">and Emma Sage walks by not missing a beat and says <strong><em>"Or you could move out"</em></strong></span></div>
<div class="dndata">
<span class="ital-inline"></span> </div>
<div class="dndata">
<span class="ital-inline" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em>Badda-bing.</em></span></div>
<div class="dndata">
<span class="ital-inline"></span> </div>
<div class="dndata">
<span class="ital-inline">She is quick on the uptake and always ready to taunt and tease her sister.</span></div>
<div class="dndata">
<span class="ital-inline"></span> </div>
<div class="dndata">
<span class="ital-inline">They love each other, they really do!</span></div>
<div class="dndata">
<span class="ital-inline"></span> </div>
<div class="dndata">
<span class="ital-inline"></span> </div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12628921554027431376noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8656694.post-8416090057896427882012-10-03T19:39:00.002-07:002012-10-03T19:39:52.765-07:0031 for 21 - Day Three<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://unringingthebell.typepad.com/my_weblog/2009/09/3rd-annual-31-for-21-blog-challenge.html"><img alt="Get It Down; 31 for 21" src="http://unringingthebell.typepad.com/31for21button.jpg" style="border: currentColor; width: 125px;" /></a><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br />
<br />
There are three classifications of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Trisomy</span> 21 [Down syndrome] ~<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.ds-health.com/trisomy.htm"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Nondisjunction</span> - </a>If a sperm or egg with an abnormal number of chromosomes merges with a normal mate, the resulting fertilized egg will have an abnormal number of chromosomes. In Down syndrome, 95% of all cases are caused by this event: one cell has two 21st chromosomes instead of one, so the resulting fertilized egg has three 21st chromosomes.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.ds-health.com/trisomy.htm"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Robertsonian</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Translocation</span></a>- Three to four percent of all cases of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">trisomy</span> 21 are due to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Robertsonian</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Translocation</span>. In this case, two breaks occur in separate chromosomes, usually the 14<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">th</span> and 21st chromosomes. There is rearrangement of the genetic material so that some of the 14<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">th</span> chromosome is replaced by extra 21st chromosome. So while the number of chromosomes remain normal, there is a triplication of the 21st chromosome material. Some of these children may only have triplication of part of the 21st chromosome instead of the whole chromosome, which is called a partial <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">trisomy</span> 21. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">Translocations</span> resulting in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">trisomy</span> 21 may be inherited, so it's important to check the chromosomes of the parents in these cases to see if either may be a "carrier."<br />
<br />
<br />
The remainder of cases of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">trisomy</span> 21 are due to <a href="http://mosaicmoments.today.com/mosaic-down-syndrome/"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">mosaicism</span></a>: Mosaic Down syndrome happens when a person has a percentage of cells with an extra 21st chromosome and the remaining cells are unaffected. This type of Down syndrome accounts for about 2%-4% of the cases of Down syndrome.<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/annikaleigh/3985821224/" title="Mosaic Down syndrome by annikaleigh, on Flickr"><img alt="Mosaic Down syndrome" height="500" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2632/3985821224_e100b34485.jpg" width="406" /></a><br />
<em>Emma Sage has Mosaic Down syndrome.</em><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.ds-health.com/mosaic.htm"><strong>What is <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">Mosaicism</span>?</strong></a><br />
from Dr. Len <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15">Leshin</span>, MD, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16">FAAP</span><br />
Every cell in the human body comes from one initial cell: the fertilized egg, which is also called the zygote. After fertilization, the zygote then proceeds to divide. As new cells form, the chromosomes duplicate themselves so that the resulting cells have the same number of chromosomes as the original cell. However, mistakes sometimes happen and one cell ends up with a different number of chromosomes. From then on, all cells originating from that cell will have the different chromosomal number, unless another mistake happens. (All like cells originating from a single type of cell is called a cell line; for example, the skin cell line, the blood cell line, the brain cell line, etc.)<br />
When a person has more than one type of chromosomal makeup, that is called <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_17">mosaicism</span>, like the mosaic style of art in which a picture is made up of different colors of tiles. In Down syndrome, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_18">mosaicism</span> means that some cells of the body have <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_19">trisomy</span> 21, and some have the typical number of chromosomes.<br />
<br />
Two very good resources regarding Mosaic Down syndrome are the <a href="http://www.imdsa.org/">International <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_20">Mosiac</span> Down syndrome <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_21">Assocation</span> </a>and <a href="http://mosaicmoments.today.com/">Mosaic Moments</a>. </div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12628921554027431376noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8656694.post-41502198118056304752012-10-02T20:32:00.000-07:002012-10-02T20:32:23.303-07:00Mirror ~ Mirror<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/annikaleigh/8049293145/" title="373989071_696b51111b_o by annikaleigh, on Flickr"><img alt="373989071_696b51111b_o" height="409" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8036/8049293145_7d13a508b3_z.jpg" width="640" /></a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12628921554027431376noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8656694.post-24969852587849082952012-10-02T20:23:00.003-07:002012-10-02T20:24:04.039-07:0031 for 21 - Day Two<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">ad·vo·ca·cy :: [ad-vuh-kuh-see] :: noun, plural
ad·vo·ca·cies.</span></strong> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><em>the act of pleading for, supporting, or recommending; active
espousal: He was known for his advocacy of states' rights ~<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Active support, esp of a cause</em> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">One of the things that I take seriously as Emma Sage's
Mother, is that as I advocate on behalf of her and other people with Down
syndrome ~<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am also teaching her and
giving her to tools by my advocacy for her to be able to one day raise her own
voice......to speak her thoughts, her opinions, her ideas.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To follow HER dreams........<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">A favorite writer of mine on the topic of disabilities
awareness is a gentleman named Dave Hingsburger.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He maintains a blog on disability advocacy at
<a href="http://davehingsburger.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">‘Rolling around in my head’</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">A post of his that touched me deeply is called<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://davehingsburger.blogspot.com/2008/10/choices-indeed.html" target="_blank"> ‘ChoicesIndeed’</a></span></strong>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Upon reading this piece it
became my hope that someday Emma Sage has the same spirit and drive as a
self-advocate as this young man.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Take a read and tell me what you think.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12628921554027431376noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8656694.post-10300708626369149982012-10-01T20:52:00.001-07:002013-05-08T19:28:28.604-07:0031 for 21<em>This is the story of how Down syndrome entered into our
lives,,,,,,,,presenting itself in the genetic make-up of our youngest child. </em><br />
<em><br />We hope you Enjoy reading about our beginning of this
journey........<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/annikaleigh/8045956499/" title="40309737_375a389bce_o by annikaleigh, on Flickr"><img alt="40309737_375a389bce_o" height="456" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8029/8045956499_3414379bf9_o.jpg" width="334" /></a>
<br />
</em><br />
<em><strong>The
story of Emma Sage</strong></em><br />
<br />
<em>Emma: One who heals<br />Sage: One
with great wisdom</em><br />
<em>Alexandra:</em> See her birth story to find out
the meaning of her third [unplanned] name<br />
<br />
Even before her birth, Emma
Sage has lived up to her name, by healing and teaching those around her the true
meaning of life.<br />
<br />
Emma Sage is our fifth child. She was conceived one year
to the day of our miscarriage. Before her conception I never fully understood
the power of ones soul…….but the moment of her conception, I arose from a deep
sleep, overcome by the most incredible sensation.….I sat up as I felt her soul
enter into my body [I know you might question this experience, but it was the
most profound moment of my life and one that has allowed me the greatest sense
of peace.] I knew immediately that I was pregnant. I placed my hands on my lower
belly and asked GOD for this baby to stay. It was a warm August night and the
moon was full. I laid back down and watched the stars through the skylight
thinking about what had just happened.<br />
<br />
About 10 days later I took a home
pregnancy test and it was positive….I took three more just to be sure. I was
very nervous because of our loss that I asked my midwife to check my <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">HGH</span> levels at around 4
weeks. The levels were high and my fears subsided a bit. It was around this time
that I began having dreams. I kept dreaming of a little girl who looked just
like a china-doll….so tiny and perfect. I had my first dream of having the baby
on the side of the road…..Beginning my concern of missing labor and birthing [in
my dreams it was everywhere]. My sister who is a L&D nurse would laugh at me
when I would tell her of my dream and she brought me a cord clamp and told me to
keep it with me. [As fate would have it, we needed to use that cord clamp!] At 8
weeks, we took a family vacation to Florida. While at Universal Studios, Rick,
Katrina, Greta and I [Otto was at Disney World with my mother, sister and her
family] we were sitting in NYC waiting for the Blues Brothers show…..when this
powerful sensation came over me again. I was watching this beautiful little boy
dancing around…he would come up to us and smile and then dance away back to his
parents. After the show started I could not keep my eyes off of this little guy.
I looked at Rick and told him that I thought that this little baby was going to
be exactly like that little boy [that it would have Down syndrome]. Rick put his
arm around me and said, “That would be just fine”. I told my sister about the
incident that night at dinner and we both forgot about it.<br />
<br />
At my 13-week
visit I was measuring big for dates, so my midwife asked if it was OK to do an
ultrasound to rule out twins. Rick and I agreed [I was actually so nervous this
pregnancy and wanted to take a ‘peek’ at little one]. The ultrasound was one of
the worst experiences of my life….for the only reason being that the technician
was cold and in the middle of the scan said “There is something wrong with this
baby” and left it at that, even though I was asking her millions of questions.
While I was wiping off the goop, she called my midwife and said, “I think we
have a problem”…..Rick and I went right up to my midwifes office. There, my
midwife Peggy told me that the technician had measured the baby’s neck and the
measurement was abnormal. The baby’s <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">nuchal</span> translucency was 3.6mm and anything over
3.5mm was a soft marker for Down syndrome. Later that night Rick and I sat
outside in the barn on his motorcycle and talked. I asked him at one point “what
are we going to do?” and he looked at me and said “we are having a baby, we are
not GOD, nor should we ever play GOD” [[man do I love this guy…..he is my best
friend and he gives me such strength at times]] I was just so scared not knowing
…….but this began my quest on finding everything I could on <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">nuchal</span> translucency, soft
markers & Down syndrome. We already knew we would not have an <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">amnio</span> and we scheduled a
level II genetic ultra sound for 19 weeks gestation at a teaching hospital near
us.<br />
<br />
The time between the 13-week scan and the 19-week scan proved to be
one of the most enlightening times of my life. Everyone who asked me about my
pregnancy heard about the possibility that the baby might have Down syndrome and
the responses I got amazed me….from “you will be truly blessed if the baby does”
to “What are you going to do, your not going to have it are you?” One of the
most profound comments came from my daughter Greta. While discussing with the
children the ultrasound and ‘choices’ people make based on <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">pre</span>-natal testing Greta
looked at me and said “So mom, if parents had a crystal ball [like the
ultrasound machine] and found out that the baby they were carrying was perfect
and when that baby was five it was in a horrible accident and became disabled
and they had to take care of that child for the rest of their lives, could those
parents choose to terminate that baby just because they <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">didn</span>’t want to deal with it
later on?” [[See I told you Emma Sage was already teaching those around her the
true meaning of life, even before she entered into our world]]<br />
<br />
At the
level II, my sister came with me. She used to work at St. Peters and I wanted
her with me to also look at the scan to see if there were any issues with the
baby’s heart or other major organs [I had come to accept the T21 very easily…it
was health issues that I was scared of, because I wanted to make sure we
delivered at the right hospital if little one need immediate medical care [how
funny is this when fate had its hand on where Emma Sage was to be born]]. The
baby was free of any structural issues and the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">nuchal</span> translucency had corrected itself at
this point. We did have a slightly abnormal <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">pyelectusis</span>, so another soft marker was found.
This changed my risk/ratio from 1/47 to 1/280. At a 28-week scan the baby had no
soft markers for Down syndrome, but I knew in my heart already that she would be
born with that extra little chromosome.<br />
<br />
I celebrated this pregnancy. I
shared with everyone the joy we felt, even in light of the question of T21,
because to me, that <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">didn</span>’t matter……this was a baby, a perfect and
beautiful baby. My dreams kept intensifying. It seemed like at least once a week
I would dream of missing labor and birthing where-ever…..my sister always
laughed when I would tell her of my dreams and kept reminding me to keep the
cord clamp with me. I kept dreaming of an angel…..I thought it was the baby we
lost trying to reassure me that everything would be fine.<br />
<br />
Three days
before Emma Sage’s birth we were at the library and for some strange reason I
found and checked out the book ‘Babies with Down syndrome’ When my mother-in-law
saw the book I had checked out [along with a bunch of books on gardening] she
looked at me and said “your not going to need this book”, and I just smiled at
her and said “I know, it is for just in case”.<br />
<br />
Emma Sage was due on May
5<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">th</span>……..on Tuesday,
May 8<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">th</span> I was busy
that evening helping my oldest daughter with her science project. We finished up
the project and everyone headed to bed early [Rick had an early trip and need to
leave the house by 3:00a.m.] I had bad gas and went down stairs to take a warm
bath…..I would then sleep on the reclining chair for an hour or so and then wake
up with ‘gas’, and take another bath…..this went on three times. After the last
bath I feel asleep to wake to what I thought were finally contractions. It was
1:00 a.m. I timed them for 15 minutes and at 1:20 a.m. called my sister to say
that I think was going into labor [at this point they were beginning to hit me
fast and furious, but I could still walk and talk through them] She told me to
call my midwife and she would get dressed and meet me at the hospital. I called
the midwife at 1:25 a.m., getting her answering service, left a message and
waited [timing what seemed to be waves of contractions, never really beginning
nor ending]. She called me back at 1:33 a.m. {which awoke Rick, who jumped out
of bed and got dressed because he figured something was going on}. I told her I
was not sure if this was the start of labor, but that I felt so weird and that
could she check me out and if it were nothing she could send me home. She said
she was on her way to the hospital and would meet me there. We woke up the
children and I dressed Otto, while I was bending over to put on his overalls, I
was hit with a contraction that scared me. I asked him if he could put on his
shoes, because mommy <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">didn</span>’t feel like bending over anymore. I got
myself dressed and while I was pulling up my overalls, I got another contraction
that hit me like a ton of bricks…..I got real scared because I thought to myself
“If this is the way my labor is beginning, I don’t think I’m going to be able to
handle it and is it a good thing to be bringing the children to the birth if I’m
out of control”……I walked down stairs [Rick and the kids were on their way out
the door] and when I got to the bottom I had this strong sensation to go to the
bathroom. I told Rick I had to go to the bathroom….pulling off my clothes. When
I got in there I realized that I was going to have the baby. I yelled for Rick
telling him that I thought I was going to have the baby right away. I asked him
“Where should I go?”,,,thinking living room floor or back up to my bed and Rick
tells me “Get in the bathtub”….he throws down a bunch of clean towels and he
calls 911. I hear him on the phone and he yells, “kids quick, what is our
address again?” [Our address had changed a few years back for 911 but he could
never remember the street number as opposed to our old RR#]<br />
<br />
Now this is
where fate steps in again………I knew this was going to be Emma Sage’s birth….I
just did not know where, but I knew it was going to be just us. The most amazing
thing about Emma Sage’s birthplace is that it is exactly the same area that
Rick’s grandfather died [his grandfather died on the toilet in the same bathroom
within inches of where Emma Sage was born,,,and actually Rick was sitting on the
closed toilet, on the phone with 911 helping me deliver her….I think that there
must be a gateway for souls to enter and leave this world at that spot….[and
this is where Emma Sage’s third name comes from, her Great-grandfathers name was
Alexander and we decided to add Alexandra to her name to honor her
great-grandfather and the location of his death and her birth] Anyway, I truly
believe that the dreams I kept having were a premonition to prepare us for
birthing her alone. I also think that divine intervention was there, keeping her
birth a peaceful and joyous occasion and not one that was over-run by medical
inquiry. We were the ones to deliver her and welcome her into this world. I was
the one who said upon her birth as I raised her up in my arms to my chest “Oh,
look honey, she does have Down syndrome!”……..The children were there and we were
a family.<br />
<br />
We got to ride to the hospital in an ambulance and waiting
there at the emergency entrance was my mother, my sister and Peggy, my midwife.
Peggy looked at me and said “If it is nothing you can send me home?” and laughed
out loud because Emma Sage was delivered into our world within 14 minutes of my
telling her that.<br />
<br />
Because Emma Sage was born outside the hospital she was
considered a ‘dirty baby’ and had to stay with us [I would have had it no other
way, but because of her Down syndrome if she had been born at the hospital they
would have taken her away from me…..so see I told you there were greater forces
at hand helping us at her birth!]……we all laugh to this day about her being the
‘dirty baby who was born in a BATHTUB!’<br />
<br />
I knew right away she had Down
syndrome and my midwife and sister both said that they too thought she did….we
had many doctors come in to take a peek at her. I was scared at first because
she was <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15">hypotonic</span>
and chilly so they had a warmer brought in for her….she <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16">wouldn</span>’t latch on to nurse
right away [even though she did on the ambulance ride over] and went into a
deep, deep sleep. I started pumping right away because I would not allow them to
supplement her with formula. She would nurse from a syringe those first 24 hours
and then she latched on and has been a champion nurser ever since [I still
breastfeed her and will most likely continue till she is 4 or 5 [that is if she
wants too!] like I nursed all of her siblings.<br />
<br />
There are so many things
that have happened since Emma Sage entered into our world. She was the source of
comfort for everyone in our family the week following her birth, when my brother
tragically died. She filled every ones arms with love and hope. She carried our
whole family through that very sad time.<br />
<br />
If Emma Sage had not been born
with Down syndrome, I would have been at the World Trade Center on
September 11, 2001 [I was scheduled to attend a conference where a few of my
friends perished] but I refused to leave her.<br />
<br />
When we were in Montreal
the summer after she was born we had this older gentleman walk right up to us
[Emma Sage was in my sling so you <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_17">couldn</span>’t really see her but the top of her
head] he placed his hand right on her and said “you have a very special baby
here” We looked at this kind, old stranger and said “thank you, we think she is
very special” and he said “No, she is very special and will touch many peoples
lives…..I’m not positive how she will do it, but she will touch so many
people”……the kids and I took a moment to think about what he said and he smiled
and walked away……we looked back to the park were he was headed and could see him
anywhere. To this day I believe he was a messenger. And I must agree with him.
In Emma Sage’s short two years of life, she has touched so many people. Her
bright smile, her sweet disposition and charm captures everyone she meets. I
know her life will be filled with inspiring others, because she inspires us
every day.<br />
<br />
<br />
I can not imagine our lives with out Emma Sage. She has brought so
much love and laughter, faith and compassion to our family. She has brought enlightenment and frustration. She has brought wisdom and understanding. She has brought perspective and clarity. She teaches me lessons about life everyday. We are truly blessed
by the gift of Emma Sage!<br />
<br />
Celebrating Down syndrome Awareness Month.........as having Emma Sage in my life has truly made me aware of the sacredness of our lives and that each journey is magical.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12628921554027431376noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8656694.post-83037190798692365802012-07-05T21:31:00.001-07:002012-07-05T21:31:44.170-07:00Reading<span class="messageBody" data-ft="{"type":3}"><strong><em>“Reading is the sole means by which we slip, involuntarily, often helplessly, into another's skin, another's voice, another's soul.” ~ Joyce Carol Oates</em></strong> <br /> Reading.<br /> <br /> It is something I treasure and the one thing that I prayed to GOD for when I realized that Emma Sage was born with Down syndrome. I got down on my knees and prayed that she would learn how to read……as you see, for me, reading is magical. It is the key to many adventures. <br /> <br /> So, reading is the basis of this little Emma Sage funny.<br /> <br /> Last night, Emma Sage is chatting away with Greta and I. She turns to Greta and says “Truth or Dare” <br /> <br /> Greta replies “Truth” and Emma Sage proceeds “Which do you prefer, a fun, sporty date or a quiet, romantic evening?” Greta turns to me like ~ wt????<br /> She continues…..asking both Greta and I questions [and if we say Dare, she gives us silly things to do].<br /> <br /> “Where is this coming from?” Greta asks me…..<br /> <br /> I reply “She must have seen it on a Disney show” [as that is the only TV she watches, except when her PopPop is watching her and they watch I-Carley together…..My Dad likes that show! Lol!]<br /> <br /> So the game continues…..with questions that are very sophisticated and well beyond the scope of my newly turned eleven-year-old girls realm.<br /> <br /> Later that night Greta comes into my room laughing so hard…..<br /> <br /> She states “I know where the ‘Truth or Dare’ questions are coming from……..come see”.<br /> <br /> So I follow her upstairs to Greta’s room and there is Emma Sage sitting on Katrina’s bed, lounging and reading ~~~ Cosmopolitan<br /> <br /> Yikes. <br /> <br /> It is such a wonderful blessing she is such a good reader, but I must make sure that reading material that might not be ‘age-appropriate’ be kept out of her reach.<br /> <br /> Now I know where all her ‘beauty secrets’ she has been giving me are coming from. <br /> <br /> Bwahahahahaha……..<br /> <br /> Silly Little imp of mine.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12628921554027431376noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8656694.post-76656688211211176882012-07-04T09:15:00.003-07:002012-07-04T09:19:43.203-07:00They had Security, but they Valued More<span style="color: black; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>**And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.**</strong></span><br />
<br /><strong><span style="color: black; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></strong><br />
<span style="color: cyan;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong><span style="color: black;">They Pledged their Sacred Honor.....</span></strong>.....</span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Have you ever wondered what happened to the 56 men who
signed the Declaration of Independence?</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Five signers were captured by the British as traitors, and
tortured before they died.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Twelve had their homes ransacked and burned.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Two lost their sons serving in the Revolutionary Army;
another had two sons captured.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Nine of the 56 fought
and died from wounds or hardships of the Revolutionary War. They signed and
they pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor. What kind of
men were they?</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Twenty-four were lawyers and jurists. Eleven were merchants,
nine were farmers and large plantation owners; men of means, well educated. But
they signed the Declaration of Independence knowing full well that the penalty
would be death if they were captured.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Carter Braxton of Virginia, a wealthy planter and trader,
saw his ships swept from the seas by the British Navy. He sold his home and
properties to pay his debts, and died in rags.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Thomas McKeam was so hounded by the British that he was
forced to move his family almost constantly. He served in the Congress without
pay, and his family was kept in hiding. His possessions were taken from him,
and poverty was his reward.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Vandals or soldiers looted the properties of Dillery, Hall,
Clymer, Walton, Gwinnett, Heyward, Ruttledge, and Middleton.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">At the battle of Yorktown, Thomas Nelson, Jr. noted that the
British General Cornwallis had taken over the Nelson home for his headquarters.
He quietly urged General George Washington to open fire. The home was
destroyed, and Nelson died bankrupt.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Francis Lewis had his home and properties destroyed. The
enemy jailed his wife, and she died within a few months.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">John Hart was driven from his wife's bedside as she was
dying. Their 13 children fled for their lives. His fields and his gristmill
were laid to waste. For more than a year he lived in forests and caves,
returning home to find his wife dead and his children vanished. A few weeks
later, he died from exhaustion and a broken heart.</span></div>
N<span style="font-family: Calibri;">orris and Livingston suffered similar fates.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Such were the stories and sacrifices of the American
Revolution.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">These were not wild-eyed, rabble-rousing ruffians.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">They were soft-spoken
men of means and education.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">They had security,
but they valued liberty more.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><em>Do you value Liberty?</em></span></div>
<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12628921554027431376noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8656694.post-14799135090881064992012-07-04T09:11:00.000-07:002012-07-04T09:11:40.202-07:00Have you ever read it? I mean Really read it?<span style="color: #5588aa; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">IN CONGRESS, JULY 4, 1776<br />
<br />
The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America<br />
<br />
When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to
dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to
assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which
the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the
opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel
them to the separation.<br />
<br />
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that
they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among
these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. -- That to secure these
rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from
the consent of the governed, -- That whenever any Form of Government becomes
destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish
it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles
and organizing its<br />
powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety
and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established
should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all
experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are
sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are
accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably
the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is<br />
their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new
Guards for their future security. -- Such has been the patient sufferance of
these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter
their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great
Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct
object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove<br />
this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.<br />
<br />
He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the
public good.<br />
<br />
He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance,
unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and
when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.2pt; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: #5588aa; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large
districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of
Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable
to tyrants only.<br />
<br />
He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and
distant from the depository of their Public Records, for the sole purpose of
fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.<br />
<br />
He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly
firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.<br />
<br />
He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be
elected, whereby the Legislative Powers, incapable of Annihilation, have
returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the
mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions
within.<br />
<br />
He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose
obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others
to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new
Appropriations of Lands.<br />
<br />
He has obstructed the Administration of Justice by refusing his Assent to Laws
for establishing Judiciary Powers.<br />
<br />
He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone for the tenure of their offices,
and the amount and payment of their salaries.<br />
<br />
He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers
to harass our people and eat out their substance.<br />
<br />
He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of
our<br />
legislatures.<br />
<br />
He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil
Power.<br />
<br />
He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our
constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts
of pretended Legislation:<br />
<br />
For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:<br />
<br />
For protecting them, by a mock Trial from punishment for any Murders which they
should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:<br />
<br />
For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:<br />
<br />
For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:<br />
<br />
For depriving us in many cases, of the benefit of Trial by Jury:<br />
<br />
For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences:<br />
<br />
For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province,<br />
establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so
as<br />
to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same<br />
absolute rule into these Colonies<br />
<br />
For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws and altering
fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:<br />
<br />
For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with
power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.<br />
<br />
He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and
waging War against us.<br />
<br />
He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed
the lives of our people.<br />
<br />
He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat
the works of death, desolation, and tyranny, already begun with circumstances
of Cruelty<br />
& Perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally
unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.<br />
<br />
He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear
Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and
Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.<br />
<br />
He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring
on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages whose known
rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and
conditions.<br />
<br />
In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most
humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated
injury. A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define
a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.<br />
<br />
Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our British brethren. We have warned
them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an
unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances
of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice
and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to
disavow these usurpations, which would inevitably interrupt our connections and
correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of
consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces
our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War,
in Peace Friends.<br />
<br />
We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General
Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the
rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good
People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these united
Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States, that they
are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political
connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be
totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full
Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract<br />
Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which<br />
Independent States may of right do. -- And for the support of this Declaration,<br />
with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge<br />
to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.<br />
<br />
-- John Hancock<br />
<br />
New Hampshire:<br />
Josiah Bartlett, William Whipple, Matthew Thornton<br />
<br />
Massachusetts:<br />
John Hancock, Samuel Adams, John Adams, Robert Treat Paine, Elbridge Gerry<br />
<br />
Rhode Island:<br />
Stephen Hopkins, William Ellery<br />
<br />
Connecticut:<br />
Roger Sherman, Samuel Huntington, William Williams, Oliver Wolcott<br />
<br />
New York:<br />
William Floyd, Philip Livingston, Francis Lewis, Lewis Morris<br />
<br />
New Jersey:<br />
Richard Stockton, John Witherspoon, Francis Hopkinson, John Hart, Abraham Clark<br />
<br />
Pennsylvania:<br />
Robert Morris, Benjamin Rush, Benjamin Franklin, John Morton, George Clymer,
James Smith, George Taylor, James Wilson, George Ross<br />
<br />
Delaware:<br />
Caesar Rodney, George Read, Thomas McKean<br />
<br />
Maryland:<br />
Samuel Chase, William Paca, Thomas Stone, Charles Carroll of Carrollton<br />
<br />
Virginia:<br />
George Wythe, Richard Henry Lee, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Harrison, Thomas
Nelson, Jr., Francis Lightfoot Lee, Carter Braxton<br />
<br />
North Carolina:<br />
William Hooper, Joseph Hewes, John Penn<br />
<br />
South Carolina:<br />
Edward Rutledge, Thomas Heyward, Jr., Thomas Lynch, Jr., Arthur Middleton<br />
<br />
Georgia:<br />
Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall, George Walton <o:p></o:p></span></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12628921554027431376noreply@blogger.com0