The Group Hugger

By Brian Smith

Here is wonderful articulation of belonging written by Bob, Karen, Meaghan, Heather and Jennifer and borrowed from the Personal Stories section of the Canadian Down Syndrome Society website:

Excerpts of Stories by or About Persons with Down Syndrome ...

We have three beautiful girls with our youngest having Down syndrome. We would like to tell you a little bit about what it is like to have a child with Down syndrome.

When my husband and I were first married, we wanted four kids. We tried for seven years to have children. Our first daughter was born two months before our 10-year anniversary. Our next daughter was born 19 months later. Then our Jenny was born three years later. When she was born the doctor was very quiet and I asked him what was wrong with her. He said she just didn't look like our other girls did when they were born. My husband thought maybe she had some fingers or toes missing and checked them out right away. I knew as soon as the doctor said that, that Jennifer had Down syndrome. When I took her in my arms and looked at her sweet face, I knew I would love her as much as our other two children. We had been told years before any medical problems and that she could come home with us after five days.

We treated Jennifer the same as our other children and she has brought so much love and joy into our lives. She is the mediator when it comes to the other girls fighting and always tells them to stop fighting and have a group hug. She has almost finished her second year in school and is just one of the kids. Her speech is a little slower than the others, but she is well accepted and the kids always look out for her. She is a joy in our family and we are so glad that she was given to us to look after and love. People will tell you that God gives special kids to special people to care for and love, but I think Jennifer will make us and our girls special with her love and innocence. She has a true understanding of how the world works at a slower and sometimes better pace than our hurried one. She is a joy to all who know her, and people who don't know her can't help but smile back when she smiles at them.

We love her and her sisters. As my husband said to the social worker when Jennifer was born, "We have a strong family, and Jennifer can either come in and break it up or she can come in and make it stronger." She has made us a stronger family and our children will have an understanding that most people don't have of things that are the same and yet different.

We congratulate you on the birth of your special child and we wish you all the joy and happiness that we know he or she can bring into a family.