Stop and Smell the Roses

Feeling rain on his hand

Tears of happiness

I've been feeling a bit emotional these past couple of days. A good kind of emotional. I find it hard to believe how overcome I feel when I look at Felix and watch him play and smile and learn. He really is a wonder! The people who view those with Down Syndrome as unproductive members of society have obviously never known someone with Down Syndrome. Felix truly has changed our lives. He is only 17 months old, but he has changed so much about our perceptions of the world. He has made us stop and see what is really important.

My little teacher

Watching the rain

Only this past week, Felix taught me another of his many lessons. I was in a huge rush. It had been one of those mornings where it seemed I had a million things to do in the space of an hour. After grabbing what I needed and scooping Felix up into my arms, I dashed out the door to put him in the car. It started to rain. Not torrential rain, but a heavy shower.

Felix looked up at the sky with the most incredible look of delight and raised his hands up into the air. My first instinct was to hurry him into the car so we both didn't get wet before we went out. I really was in a hurry. BUT Felix wasn't in a hurry. He didn't have anything more important to do in that moment than feel the rain on his face and watch it run through his fingers. He stared at the raindrops landing on his open hand and looked up at me with the biggest smile on his face. 

We stood there for a good few minutes feeling the rain. Suddenly I wasn't in a hurry anymore. The wonder on that precious little boy's face as he experienced something so simple as the rain, brought tears to my eyes.    Felix showed me once again, that life is precious.