A Morning of Gratitude

This morning, I stumbled upon a George Will article about his son Jon from last year, when Jon was turning 40. Reading it reminded me not only about how far we have come in the Down syndrome movement, but how instrumental people like George Will (through his well articulated and direct articles about Jon and Down syndrome) and Madeline Will (through her life-long dedication to advocating in Washington for the rights of people with Down syndrome) have been in getting us to where we are now. They are not alone. Carlene Anderson Mattson, Ricki Sabia, Sue Buckley, Patricia L. Oelwein, and countless others, through their hard work, determination and beliefs in our children’s rights, have made their (and our) lives better. They have fought and won game changing battles and continue to drive change. We don’t thank them enough. So today, I think of you all, and thank you for the work you did and do that enables my amazing 14 year old son with Down syndrome to sit in a classroom in our home school, learning about art, chemistry, multiplication, language arts and volleyball. Thank you!!