The "Talk"

I heard something on the radio that made me feel a little angry yesterday. A man was talking about the discussion he has with any boy who dates his daughter. You know, where a girl's father sits down with the guy she is dating and has a "talk." In this case, the person speaking said that while his daughter is not a possession, he is to steward her until she becomes an adult. As someone created in God's image, his daughter is someone precious that any guy should feel honored to spend time with, someone who should protected and treated with respect.

I turned the channel fairly quickly. While I agree that all people are made in God's image and, as such, should be treated with dignity and respect, I am annoyed that it is only guys who receive the "talk." As the mother of two sons, I am equally concerned that the girls they date treat them well. Why is it that we only talk with guys? Do girls hold no responsibility for what happens on a date?

When our sons are old enough to date (a long, long time from now), I would like to meet the girls they date and give them my own little talk. I might start with, "I love my son and if you do anything to hurt I will rip out your..."

Well, maybe that's a little extreme. But I would like to talk about dressing modestly and helping our son focus on her inner beauty more than her physical beauty. I would like to tell her that we have taught our son that no means no and we expect her to follow the same rule. I would like to tell her that my son is a wonderful creation of God, just as she herself is, and that they should treat each other with respect and consideration. And I would let her know that they are both mutually responsible for their actions when they are together.

Okay, so my "talk" isn't perfect yet. That's okay. I have many more years to work on it (I hope! Josiah has been talking a little about one of the girls in his kindergarten class).

~~~~~

P.S. During the next two weeks I will be reading a book in our son's kindergarten class, going to our college's homecoming and traveling to Germany for a fun-filled week of meeting with industry colleagues. I probably won't have much time to blog...

Sleep vs Soap

I awake to a soft thump the sound of pattering feet. Josiah scampers into our bedroom and announces, "I have to go potty."

"So go" I grumble only half-awake and unwilling to get out of bed unless absolutely necessary.

Josiah wanders into the bathroom. I hear the toilet flush and water running. Good, I think, he remembered to wash his hands. I glance at the clock, curious what hour of the morning it is. 2:30 a.m. ugh. Oh how I long for day when he will figure out that he can go to the bathroom in the middle of the night without waking us up.

The water is still running and I hear a soft thwacking noise. "Josiah, are you okay?" I whisper.

"There's no soap."

"Oh yeah. I need to refill the soap. I'll do it tomorrow."

After a few minutes of quiet I begin to wonder why he isn't going back to bed. I listen a little harder and hear soft sobs followed by a small sniffle. I reluctantly roll out of bed to investigate. I find Josiah standing forlornly near the sink in the dark bathroom, softly crying.

"Josiah? What's wrong? Why aren't you going back to bed?"

"I can't wash my hands. There's not enough soap."

Feeling a bit perplexed and somewhat exasperated by his sudden desire for clean hands, I quietly assure him, "It's okay. Just dry your hands and go back to bed. I'll fix the soap tomorrow. It's 2:30 in the morning and I'm really tired. I'm not going to get more soap right now. Come on."

I help him back into bed and give a soft kiss. He may be a little inconvenient sometimes, but I sure do love him.

Down Syndrome Carnival

I am hosting the fourth edition of the Down Syndrome Carnival this week.

Our church recently decided to teach the nursery kids Scripture verses in sign language. I am so excited because our 2-year old (who has Down Syndrome) loves sign language. This is just one small way that our church makes our family feel welcomed and included regardless of our abilities and disabilities. We also recently purchased Let All the Children Come to Me:A Practical Guide to Including Children with Disabilities in Your Church Ministries for our children's program coordinator. So, I thought that I would highlight some posts dealing with the issue of churches and disabilities. McNair at Disabled Christianity has a post called Child Find that encourages churches to find children and other people with disabilities in order to welcome them into our church families. I also found a great article at the Centre for Spirituality, Health and Disability website, The Body of Christ has Down's Syndrome: Theological Reflections on vulnerability, disability and Graceful communities by John Swinton. This a theological paper, so it's not exactly light reading, but it is very good.

In addition, here are a couple of other posts that were submitted: The Least of These, where Michelle brings our attention to a news story about 2 dozen Iraqi boys with special needs who were rescued from an orphanage, and Father's Day Reflection: Special Needs, Special Love, an article my husband wrote for BeNotAfraid.net, an online outreach to parents who have received a poor or difficult prenatal diagnosis.

I am not certain who will host the next Down Syndrome Carnival. Please send any posts or articles you would like included in the next Down Syndrome Carnival to Leticia .

Dada

Elijah is beginning to talk a little bit. He has said "dada" and "papa" and even something that sounded like "Josiah" and "Elijah." He has not, however, said "Mama" yet. He can say "em" when he sees the letter "M," but he refuses to say "Mama."

This morning I was repeating "mama" to Elijah in the hopes that he would imitate the sound. After a while Elijah put his little hands on my cheeks, turned my face towards his, looked me in the eye and said... "dada!" (sigh).

Recent Photos

I feel like I should post something, but I don't have much to say this week. So here are some recent photos of the kids. Enjoy!

Look out! This kid is dangerously fun!

Ready for the first day of kindergarten...

Here we go!

I love this duck! (It sings "Splish, Splash I Was Taking a Bath" while dancing). Thanks Grandma and Grandpa!


Hanging out at the arboretum where some real splishing and splashing is possible.

Riding the tram at the arboretum.

This is so much fun!

Do you like my new jammies and haircut?

Elijah's New Obsession

Elijah has a new obsession. We can't go anywhere or do anything without him displaying this fascination. He can sit still for up to half an hour when we indulge this passion. Elijah has discovered...the alphabet!

I suppose we shouldn't be too surprised given how much time our family spends reading books. Even so, I am absolutely delighted! One of Josiah's kindergarten objectives is to know every letter of the alphabet and the sound each letter makes. So, my 2-year old son (who happens to have Down Syndrome) is working on kindergarten level material! I know other two year olds already know their alphabet, but that doesn't make me any less proud of Elijah.

Anywhere we go Elijah points to the letters and waits for us to identify them. His favorite attraction at the Dupage Children's Museum was their art gallery. He didn't look at the art work though. He stood in front of the large sign and pointed at each letter in the word "Gallery" (the only word that was at his height) over and over and over again. When he sits in a grocery cart he points and the letters on the handle. He screams when it is time to put away his alphabet books. (OK, he actually screams anytime we take a book away from him). Anytime he notices the letter "A" he points and declares "A!" He can also identify the letters "E," "F" and sometimes "M." (Which also shows that his speech is beginning to progress more).

I often sit and write the alphabet for him on a Magna Doodle on letter at a time. He will sit through the entire alphabet and then sign, "more!" On some days I have gone through the entire alphabet three or four times and he still asks for more. Whenever I sing the alphabet song I also sign each letter. Now when he hears me sing the alphabet song he moves his hand around as if he were signing the letters with me. It's so cute!

This is one obsession that Al and I are happy to indulge!