A hat and redemption

As if to remind me that I am in fact doing a better job of parenting than leaving my children to be raised by wolves, the night after writing this post I sat back and enjoyed the most beautiful performance of my life.

After dinner and bath Malakai disappeared into the room and returned to where we were all sitting in the lounge, with a cap in his hand. He instructed us all to be quiet and then donned the hat and started to act as if he was riding a horse - hilarious and very cute! He then went on to pretend he was a frog, a cow, a dog and more.

Now, anyone who knows Malakai will also know that he loves to perform - he is really and truly designed for a life on stage without a single shy bone in his little body! And this after my admission on previous occasions that one of the very few things I thought I knew about Down syndrome was that people with the condition couldn't act or pretend. Seriously? What a ridiculous thought, I know - but nevertheless it was one of my previously ignorant beliefs.

And it struck me how much I've learned about Down syndrome since Malakai's arrival - sometimes I learned new things just by chance, through reading articles that I came across, books, blogs and the like. And other times - let me honest here - I 've researched obsessively into the wee hours of the morning, consuming huge amounts of information, study results or whatever I could get my hands on. This tendency to obsessively research was usually the result of not finding someone who could help me with a particular problem I was having with Malakai, and at other times a result of being told that I was overreacting about something, so I suppose on the one had I researched to find answers and on the other I researched to find redemption.

I wouldn't necessarily return to the doctor or specialist and tell them that I was in fact not breaking my child or overreacting, but I would at least be able to sleep that night knowing that I was doing my best, that Malakai's development and future was safe in my hands and that no harm could come to him because of ignorance... not on my watch.

Because you see, Malakai is precious, he is beautiful and he is wonderful. He deserves the best and he deserves to be given the best shot at life considering he's already got some real challenges to deal with.

But I digress from the performance...

So after we enjoyed watching Malakai's performance (and here's what I love so much about him) he wasn't content to just call it night - oh no. He called everyone up for their turn with the hat and he would sit in their seat and direct - sheep; dog; cow; horse... We each had a turn to wear the hat and perform to the applause of the room.

Now I don't know where he learned this version of charades from - or if he came up with it all on his own - but it was a poignant reminder of how clueless I once was, tempered with the redemption of just how much more I know (and get to enjoy) now.