Having a family with three kids means that you have to find a way to balance all three kids. Add a "Fourth Kid"... we'll name it "Medical" and suddenly that balance is really hard to come by. But we still try to balance time, resources and the right amount of loving to help all these kids thrive. Are we helicopter parents? Yeah sure, but remember one thing, we have that fourth kid "Medical" hanging around which means that our kids have to be able to rappel out of our helicopters. And they're pretty okay with that, I swear I heard Madison yelling "Whee" on the way down. These kids are tough, they don't know that, they don't really see that...but I think they are starting to learn how tough they truly are.
Madison sees herself in the shadow, and not her brother's as you would think. She finds herself stuck in Sydney's shadow. Not sure why, no one put her there, and as much as she thinks she's there... well, the line was "Nobody puts Baby in a corner" same holds for Madison. No one puts Madison in a corner, not even Madison.
She created a google drawing at school for Down Syndrome Awareness. A very cool ribbon in blue and yellow with wording to spread the word to end the "R" word. She feels very strongly about this, and she says she does it because she stands for Bradley and those like him because they matter too. She has no fear. And I say that because she posted it to two of her classrooms at school, letting two groups have freedom to attack or support. The really cool part...there were a lot of nice supportive comments and so far I haven't seen any negative.
Today, she had a chance for a little one on one time with her vice principal. The way Madison tells a story, I was thinking she was in trouble, but actually the exact opposite. Her VP at school had sat in on all of her classes and as a result of watching her work, (Mind you, this is Madison explaining - I get the feeling he's sat in on a lot of classes) he awarded her with a certificate for a free dinner at Johnny Rockets to celebrate her being on the Honor Roll and her Excellent Citizenship. Like I said, she tries to put herself in Sydney's shadow, but Madison is excelling in her Honors classes and all her other classes this year, she is also quite a great Trumpet player. The truth is, Madison casts a shadow she doesn't live in one. Anyway, while with the VP, she told him about October being Down syndrome Awareness month, and proudly responded that she had a brother who has an extra chromosome when he asked her if she knew anyone. He looked at her google drawing and the comments and even offered her some tips for how she could further advance her campaign. My little girl is on a mission and loving every step of the way, as I said, I swear I heard her yelling "Whee!"
Our little Madison is trying to grow into who she is going to be. It's not easy, there are a lot of tears involved, but she's just a super sensitive girl who isn't allowed to cry at school, so it all comes out at home. I spend a lot of time mediating, more time coaching, and sometimes I help arm her with potential responses to tough situations. Sometimes she actually listens to me and I think we are both pretty surprised when it works. I was that shy kid in school that never put myself out there. I never stood by to allow anyone to be bullied, but I didn't champion any causes either. I was just trying to pass math. So I guess in some ways Madison gets to enjoy my hindsight. I tell her what I did, and I tell her what she could do...the easy way and the hard way. The hard way takes courage; Madison has more courage in her right now than I ever had as a kid, so she takes the hard way. And as she steps forward on that path I give her the potential up and the potential down...I really think she listens to the potential up and then shuts me out for the potential down because I think she refuses to see that side.
I tell my kids to live a life worth living and always make sure at the end of the day you are proud to meet the eyes in the mirror. Madison is going to live that life and take the bumps and bruises along the way, but she is going to defend her brother and make sure that he also lives a life worth living.
I am proud of all three of my kids. Today, I am so incredibly proud of my teen-ager. I know she's amazing, but it's always nice when someone else sees it too and lets her know. We'll be hitting Johnny Rockets some time this weekend for a little celebratory meal...Food on the school shakes on mom!
Have a great night!
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