31 for 21 blog challenge - day 2........how i met your father

 i mentioned yesterday that i do not have a child with down syndrome...and pretty much after this post i probably won't have any personal stories to share about children with down syndrome...but i do have one.  its how i met my husband.

after college i decided i wanted to become a teacher and that i wanted to work with children with special needs.  after college i was looking for something to do during the summer where i could work with these children before i started taking classes for my teaching certification.  variety club camp was close by and they had a summer camp for children with mild to moderate developmental and physical disabilities.  i decided to sign up as a camp counselor.  it was there that i met my husband. 

he was working as a weekend pharmacist at the time and was looking for somewhere to volunteer his time during the week.  since we were one of the oldest people there we hung out together.  then we started dating...and well the rest is history.  but this post isn't about us - its about the kids at the camp. 

there were a variety of children there with a whole spectrum of disorders...but it was the children with down syndrome that got us.  those round faces with smiles so big they took up half their faces.  when they were happy their entire bodies lit up!  they wore their emotions on their sleeves - happy...smile!  sad...frown!  angry...scowl!  they were a joy to be around.

summer camp ended but we wanted more.  we volunteered with the special olympics and attended some of their events.  if you've never attended a special olympics i would suggest you do.  i remember being stunned at their abilities and their drive.  i was blown away but what these athletes were capable of achieving and their level of competition. 

i honestly cannot remember what happened next - i can only guess that life happened and suddenly we weren't volunteering anymore....and that was that.  we had children and my priorities shifted to raising and caring for them.  it wasn't until my friend cindy had her third child - and that child was diagnosed with ds that i even thought about them again....and that my friends - is a whole 'nother post........