My girls are pretty freakin' awesome too. Elisha is uber talented in EVERYTHING she does. It's kinda disgusting, actually. And I'm her mother. She plays Division 1 Track - 4 events, was offered college scholarships in music and volleyball as well, is a truly phenomenal artist, is beautiful, smart, funny, sweet, caring, and dynamic.
Her 5-year-old sister is her mini-me. Her goal in life? To rule the world by the time she's 10. She may actually do it.
But with all the talents my girls have, my boys have in equal amounts of intuition and love. I'm not saying that they're stupid or ugly. Quite the opposite, in fact. Nate has a near photographic memory. And you've seen the pictures in other posts. My family was not hit with an ugly stick (thanks to their father's genetics). But the qualities I cherish most in my boys is their concern for others and their laid-back attitude.
My girls? Well you don't get to rule the rule by sitting back and doing nothing. My girls are a bit high-strung which is why they're over achievers. It's go go go all the time. Courtney never shuts up. Ever. It's question after question after question as her little mind absorbs as much information as is humanly possible for a 5-year old. Elisha is working her butt off at college from 7 a.m. till 11pm most nights, and still finds time to come home on the weekend to be a big sister to the youngers (Jake and Courtney).
Nathan and Jake. Well, they just know. Nathan is a watcher. He observes and absorbs. Jacob explores and discovers. Up until today, I just considered Jake inquisitive (that's a very nice word for 'the little boy gets into virtually everything in our house'. He takes it apart, tries to put it back together, gets frustrated, throws it on the floor and moves on to something new while I try to pick up after him - over and over and over again).
Today was not a good day for me. I somehow pinched a nerve in my shoulder rendering one arm useless, then proceeded to get a nasty migraine that had me pretty much incapacitated for the entire day and well into the evening. Throughout the day, as I was laying on the couch nursing the pain in my body, Jake would come hang out with me. He'd bring his tablet and sit on me and quietly play. If I managed to pull myself up to a sitting position, he'd sit on my lap.
By 6 pm I decided to try to sleep some of the headache away while the olders (Nate and KC) watched the youngers (Courtney and Jake). I was in my pitch black room 5 minutes before Jake cracked open the door and snuck in, closing the door behind him. He climbed up on my bed, laid down next to me, and cuddled quietly in the dark next to his sick mother, putting his hand on my face, then petting my hair, trying to comfort me.
It was the sweetest thing! My adorable 4-year-old son was trying to take care of his sick mom.
He stayed in the pitch black room with me for another 20 or 30 minutes before he walked out, got my Iphone, came back in, and watched Madagascar next to me (still in the dark) and held my hand. He stayed next to me until it was his bed time, which wound up being him cuddled up next to me until he fell asleep for the night.
After a night like tonight. No one can tell me that having a child with Down syndrome is a trial. No one. Nuh uh. Jacob is not lucky to have me as a mother. I am lucky to have Jacob as a son.
