Thinking Out Loud, Volume CCCLX

Those of you who know me well, and those who have been following my blog for a while, are aware of the fact that I have a two year old granddaughter who has Down Syndrome. Her name is Lennon. Several times I've mentioned both the joys and challenges we face having a special needs child in the family, and we're just the grandparents. Both the joys and challenges are multiplied for the parents, our son and daughter in law. We were told within minutes of her birth that she had the symptoms of DS, and I'll never forget the big lump that came in my throat when I got the news. It was a hard pill to swallow. Then came the questions. Oh, there were a lot of questions. To be honest, there still are. Through it all, there was one nagging fear that I never spoke about....until now. Lennon has a brother, Lake, who is four years and one day older than she is. From the day of Lennon's birth, I worried how her situation would affect him. Those first few weeks were especially hard on him due to the fact that she had to stay in the hospital for most of the first two months of her life, and part of that time she was in a New Orleans hospital, four hours away, for her heart surgery. It's typical for a child to experience some jealousy when he has to start sharing attention with a newborn sibling, so we naturally expected that situation to be much greater in his case, but I have to say, considering the circumstances, he was a real trooper. From the time she was old enough to start to recognize members of her family, it was obvious that Lennon idolized her big brother. Of course, at first, he wasn't aware that his little sister was any different from any other baby, and he made it equally obvious that he was just as crazy about her. Now he knows her situation, and I have to say that I don't think I've ever seen a six year old big brother who is as fond of his little sister as Lake is of Lennon. Naturally, as with any siblings, she annoys him at times, but all in all, he seems to be the perfect big brother. So, my worry about how her situation would affect him is almost gone, because from my vantage point, she has had a positive affect on him. Kids who don't know better can sometimes be cruel to children who are a little different, and chances are, Lennon will have to face some of that. Yes, I've worried about that, and I've worried about how Lake will handle it when it happens, but the more I watch him, the more confidence I have that he'll handle it well. Another of my concerns has been what her long term future will look like if she outlives her parents, but I don't worry about that as much any more either. Lennon is fortunate to have the parents she has, but years from now when they're gone, Lennon will be fine, because from the way it looks now, she has a big brother who's gonna see to it. Preston