Clare has girlfriends. It is so cute. One of my biggest fears for Clare is that she will have a tough time making friends. And she may in the future, who knows. But I love the innocence and acceptance of small children. They do not know there is anything different about Clare. They do not notice that Clare cannot walk or talks just a little bit. They just love her for who she is.I have two close friends whose daughters are just a couple months younger than Clare. Sometimes it is hard for me to see these girls because it reminds me of how Clare "should" be. Walking, talking, eating, doing all those typical almost-two year old things. It's hard to see children younger than Clare far surpassing her in development. But then I am also so profoundly grateful for the friendships of these moms and the kids. I know both Clare and I benefit greatly from knowing these wonderful ladies and their daughters. One of them is in my regular playgroup, so we see Emily and her mommy often. The other day, Clare and Emily were bouncing on a small trampoline together (it really was small and Clare was being a good girl and holding on tightly to the bar). Emily was doing all the actual jumping, being much (much, much) more agile on her feet than Clare. Clare was along for the ride and loving every minute of it. At one point, she turned to Emily with a huge grin on her face and just started babbling. And Emily babbled back. The mommies all went "awwwww."
At church yesterday, we were already settled in our pew when Clare's other girlfriend and her family came in. They sat a few pews behind us. Clare immediately spotted Cara and became so excited. She stood gripping the back of our pew and greeted Cara quite loudly, much to the amusement of everyone around us. I was amazed that Clare actually recognized Cara from a few pews up, not to mention that she clearly was happy to see her. Cara is so sweet and always wants to hug Clare whenever she sees her. All parents want their children to be loved and have friends, but I know I want it the mostest (as Jamie would say) and it's warm and snuggly to see Clare be loved.
9 comments:
How adorable! I often wonder how friendships are going to be with Brady. When Michael was his age he was already hangin' with his friends. Brady can't even sit up, let alone stand up.
How cute that Clare was "talking" with her friend. I wonder what the topic of conversation was???
Thanks for making my Tuesday morning a nice wake-up! :)
Love -K
Such a cute Pic....I worry also about friends for Tatum. A girlfriend of mine has a downs baby that is 6m older then Tatum...They are so cute playing together and the same size :) Clare looks like such a big girl in that picture
Love the picture of Clare with her little buddy. How fun for you guys.
What a tough subject to think about. It breaks my heart to think someday someone may hurt one of our precious kiddos. They all live in such a safe, warm environment right now. All we can do is support them and love them and protect them to the best of our ability. What an interesting adventure we are all on...
What a sweet photo! I know there are tough times ahead, but just enjoy the beauty, love and sweetness of Clare now. She will win hearts all of her life. The future may not look "normal" to us now, but what there will be is love and goodness! Love to all of you, Aunt Joan
What a great story! (and picture!) I feel the same way. I love Daven's connection with his cousin Luke, but it almost breaks my heart when they are together. Luke is over a year younger that Daven and has far surpassed him. However, I know they will always be dear friends.
I have missed you! (work and jury duty is swallowing up all my play time. HA!)
Awwww. That is so cute. Clare just keeps getting prettier every day. Isn't it great how our kids with WS just seem to bubble over when they love someone?
We love that you are our friends. I often wonder what the future will hold for Ben and Emily too. It is a scary world. I really thank God for faith and friendship. I hope our kids are friends for a very long time. It was so great watching them play!
Wendy
You sound like me, my preschool daughter has Down Syndrome. I was pregnant with 8 of my girlfriends, and their children are talking so much more than Christina, that it hurts sometimes. . .but she gets LOTS of love and acceptance from them. I just give it up to God, AGAIN.
Your daughter will make friends left and right - people with Williams Syndrome are superiorly adept at connecting with people - just give it time (although, it already seems to be happening!). My brother has WS, and never forgets a face, and is incredibly enthusiastic about being with people - charm is a natural gift that WS folks have. I've even heard WS be called the "overly-friendly" syndrome :)
Growing up, I remember that rather than worrying about Jeremy (my brother) making friends, my parents and I were more concerned with teaching him to be cautious and not 100% trusting of strangers - it's a tough balance. But your child will endear herself to so many that you won't have to protect her alone :)
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