What do you see?

What do you see?

I see a beautiful boy, who is full of love in its purest form, sitting contentedly with his Opa (my dad), who's originally from Germany. I used to be afraid of the diagnosis of Down syndrome. I didn't want my child to be different from his three older siblings. What I didn't know then, and what I know now, is that he is not a diagnosis. Not even close. Yes, he has some of the characteristics of someone with Down syndrome, but he is first a brother, a son, a grandson, and a great grandson (to Granny in Holland) and an all-around important member of this family and our community.

My parents were here this weekend for the Oktoberfest and my birthday. John Michael couldn't get enough of kissing his Opa. When they arrived on Friday for Kaffee und Kuchen (coffee and cake), he recognized him right away and when we asked him to say, "Opa," he said "Ah-pa!" And not just one time, either. That was very cool!


I found this link, below, at the NDSC website. It might take a moment to open, but it's worth it.


What do you see? I only see beautiful faces.


http://gallery.me.com/tymattson#100173