Yesterday at church, I saw a woman put her arm around a young man in our congregation, and it made me tear up. It touches me every time I see someone welcome and accept a person with Down syndrome, because I feel they would have accepted my daughter.
I hope you will take a few minutes to watch this video. It just says it all. I love the way Kelle Hampton advocates for her daughter and all people with Down syndrome.
I am missing my Liza Jane these days. I wish I could have seen her grow up and find out what her interests would have been.
One message in this video is to "be the change" you want to see. I hope I will have the grace to extend love and acceptance to all those who cross my path.
Monday, January 21, 2013
Sunday, January 6, 2013
Ready, Set, Go!
So, for a few months now I have been procrastinating. I need to morph this blog into something beyond my grief experience, and that is a hard thing to do. For a while I think some deep part of me felt like if I talk about other things than my daughter and how much I would always love and miss her, I would be acting as if she didn't really matter.
I overheard someone on the train to Philly a few days ago say that perfectionists are among the worst procrastinators. It is the drive to do it perfectly that makes us afraid to actually start, because it is so intimidating. I won't explain this further, because if you are a perfectionist like me, it will already be making some sense to you.
A wise person once told me that as Luke and I continue to grow our family, we will not stop grieving our daughter. We may be caring for more children in the future, but the grief process will not stop once they arrive. And her memory will not go away once they arrive.
So I'm taking the plunge right here, right now. I'm giving myself a big kick in the rear, and I'm shouting "ready, set, go!" Let's do this thing.
When I started this blog, I wanted it to be flexible. Gathering Blessings is about finding reasons for joy, meaning and thankfulness in any season of life. So future blog posts here will chronicle not only grieving our first daughter, but to muse about the process of adopting our future children.
It's a new year, and it's going to be filled with learning and challenges, laughter and tears. I wouldn't have it any other way.
I overheard someone on the train to Philly a few days ago say that perfectionists are among the worst procrastinators. It is the drive to do it perfectly that makes us afraid to actually start, because it is so intimidating. I won't explain this further, because if you are a perfectionist like me, it will already be making some sense to you.
A wise person once told me that as Luke and I continue to grow our family, we will not stop grieving our daughter. We may be caring for more children in the future, but the grief process will not stop once they arrive. And her memory will not go away once they arrive.
So I'm taking the plunge right here, right now. I'm giving myself a big kick in the rear, and I'm shouting "ready, set, go!" Let's do this thing.
When I started this blog, I wanted it to be flexible. Gathering Blessings is about finding reasons for joy, meaning and thankfulness in any season of life. So future blog posts here will chronicle not only grieving our first daughter, but to muse about the process of adopting our future children.
It's a new year, and it's going to be filled with learning and challenges, laughter and tears. I wouldn't have it any other way.
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| Happy New Year 2013 - hopefully by next year, there will be more Martin family members in the picture! |
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