Down Syndrome Awareness: Grayson

When we got our son Grayson’s prenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome around this time 2 years ago, we were so scared. The hopes and dreams for our future child seemed to die with the news.

What we came to understand though, is that we were learning a very important lesson about raising a child. Most parents will agree that at some point, you realize everything you hoped your child would “be” is really just that, hopes. No matter what you do, your child is still going to turn into whatever they want to be, not what you want.

They’re going to like what they like, not because you like it. They’ll play sports or not, because they choose to, not because you want them to. When you start out with your first pregnancy, you envision everything you’re life is going to be when your baby gets here. And then when they get here… it’s nothing like you envisioned. Some of its better, some of its worse, and some is just plain different.

The beauty of Grayson’s prenatal diagnosis is that we got to this very conclusion before our son was even born. We realized very quickly that he was going to be different from what we had imagined. But different isn’t bad!

Grayson got to enter this world with no expectations placed on him, no pressure, no “plan.” He gets to follow whatever path he chooses and get there on his own timeline.

Most importantly, we’ve seen over time that there was nothing for us to be so afraid of. Grayson has a level of determination I’ve never experienced before. Whatever path he decides to take, I have no doubt he’ll not only succeed, but exceed any expectations someone may place on him.

I mean realistically, do we still have hopes and dreams for him? Of course! But I think we have much more of a “we’ll see what Grayson decides” perspective. It’s his world after all, we’re just living in it!

So here’s to Grayson, for teaching us early that we have no control, and that is perfectly ok!