Today is a day I adore being on social media. My feeds are flooded with the beautiful faces and incredible stories of those who have Down syndrome and their families. I’ll be honest – I didn’t get the Monday house cleaning finished today since I was scrolling through Facebook and Instagram every five minutes. It was so worth it! My floors can stay sticky till tomorrow. Today we’re celebrating!
Yesterday, I swung into Target with the kids to make sure we each had a fun pair of socks to wear today. We rock our socks for Down syndrome awareness for a couple reasons. One, when other people ask about our spectacular footwear, we tell them about the significance of the day. Two, wild socks are unique and awesome, just like people with Down syndrome! And three, if you put two socks back to back with the heels touching, they kind of make an X. That’s the shape of a typical chromosome. Down syndrome happens when there is an extra copy of the 21st chromosome. Fun, huh?! Sam picked checkered socks (which he keeps showing me today) and Ella picked out a very cool pair of knee-high, bright pink, sparkly socks. I’ve been saving a pair of wildly swirly socks just for this occasion, so I was already set. This morning we took quick photos before the kids were off to school. What do you think??
After dinner last night, Ella helped me put together treat bags for their teachers and bus drivers, as well as a few other friends. Sam helped. Or at least ate marshmallows near us.
I had a lot of time driving back from my sweet cousin’s wedding earlier in the day, so I had time to think through ideas of what I wanted to say on the treat bag topper. Once the kids were in bed, I created the topper and stuck it to the bags. The back had various facts and thoughts about Down syndrome. Tada! A perfect little way to celebrate the day.
Tonight we’ll be driving up over the hill to see the city light Enger Tower in blue and yellow for World Down Syndrome Day! Everyone will be able to see it! I’m going to be teary. I’m just putting that out there now since it’s inevitable. 🙂
Happy World Down Syndrome Day!!
If you would like to learn more about Down syndrome, here are a few places you can click.
Down Syndrome Awareness Month
a series we did here on the blog in October
International Down Syndrome Coalition
National Down Syndrome Society
Global Down Syndrome Foundation
