Ever the advocate

In this journey with Cora I was thrown into the role of advocate before I felt ready for it.  I fought that role.  I held tight to the comfort of my child and my home and hid within the walls of protection I felt they gave. Then in one sudden movement I was shifted into the advocate role as though I had been wearing it all along.  My walls of protection soon became the foundation for writing the book, advocating for not only my child, but perhaps yours as well.

October is Down syndrome awareness month and I challenge you to ask yourself ,"I am sharing this journey with Cora, what have I done this month to advocate for her?"  or maybe the question is "I am sharing the journey with my child who has Down syndrome, what have I done this month to advocate for my child?"

We are all different and with that comes the reality of having different comfort zones.  I understand that and I respect that, I even cherish that gift of individuality that Creator bestowed upon us all.  Thinking of your own comfort zone, how will you advocate for Cora this month?  How will you advocate for your child if they have Down syndrome?

For me the greatest fear that the word advocate held was the social belief that comes with it. I believed it meant I had to take on the world, become extremely vocal about everything pro Down syndrome and fight like a lioness against everything negatively said or displayed about Down syndrome.  In truth, advocating can be done in small steps or huge leaps.  It can be done in stealth mode or over a PA system.  It can be something as silent as changing your facebook picture to a Down syndrome support picture for the month, or as visible as walking in a Buddy Walk to show your support.

I again challenge you to answer the question I have posed earlier in this post, "What have you done to show your support for Cora and her journey during this month of awareness?" For me, its changing my personal facebook photo to one that says I am a proud mama of a child with Down syndrome.  It was becoming a National Down Syndrome Society Ambassador for Michigan.  It was walking in the Buddy Walk that was three hours away. It was starting the facebook page - The Gifted Choice - to not only promote the book but more importantly to help empower the moms/parents of our beautiful children instead of just focusing on how our children look.  That's my comfort zone.  What is yours?