Mission Accomplished...Sort of

Rocky Mountain Pumpkin Ranch--October 2008

Last week, Kimball was telling us how a few of his classmates at school have randomly come up to him this year and said, "You have such a cute little brother.  I remember in elementary school when your mom brought him into class and he showed us some sign language.  That was so cool."

I smiled and was about to say, "How neat."  When Mat spoke up with, "Well, that was the whole point wasn't it?"  And suddenly I remembered that, yes, that had been the point.

It's amazing how fast your mind can fly through past memories.  In one small moment I remembered being new in Loveland and sitting by the Chilson Center pool with a one-year-old Isaac in my lap as Kimball had his swim lesson.  A little girl, I would say she was around 10 years old, came up to me and asked me about Isaac's glasses.  People often took interest in such a little guy in glasses and asked me the same thing she did, "How did they know he needed glasses?"

My answer was the same as always, "Well, because he has Down syndrome, it's part of the regular check-ups he needs.  So, they found out he need them when he was around 8 months old."

"Oh," she said, nodding her head.

It was then that I realized that she, and many other kids, may not know what Down syndrome is. So, I asked her if she did.  She shook her head, and I told her a little about Down syndrome and Isaac.

"Down syndrome is something he was born with.  It's not something you can get after your born.  It means that Isaac will need some extra help with learning things and will learn things later than other kids who don't have it...like walking and talking.  But, he knows a little sign language."

The girl smiled and said that Isaac was very cute and went happily on her way.  It was then that I wished that Isaac and I could let more kids know about Down syndrome and what it means.  Because then they wouldn't be nervous around people with Down syndrome as they got older.

I remembered how I started taking Isaac into Kimball and Evan's classrooms each year.  The kids always had fun with him and he with them.  I always told the kids, "He can understand a lot more than he can say, so don't be nervous to come up and talk to him.  If you don't know what to say, just give him a high five.  He loves to high five!"

I began to see how all those kids went out of their way to talk to Isaac whenever they saw him and was excited that Isaac could feel so welcomed at school.  I slowly forgot that I was hoping there would be a lasting impression that would color their view of people with Down syndrome beyond their years in elementary school.

At the end of my moment of remembering, I smiled because I felt a little sense of accomplishment.  I felt happy that those kids still have memories of Isaac and they have one person to think of when they hear the words:  Down syndrome.  I thought about how, even though Isaac is with them everyday, the children in his class learned a lot about what Down syndrome means when I spoke with them a month ago.  I even thought the words:  Mission Accomplished...And then, I realized I that I haven't taken Isaac to visit Evan's classroom this year.  And, I haven't quite gotten around to speaking to the children in the Primary at church either.  I'm glad Kimball reminded me why I stared the visits and that it's about more than just helping Isaac to fit in.