Cinderella Complex

I'm linking up today with Kelly over on her "Moms of Kids with Special Needs" post. My "kid" is my 29 year old son, Joshua, who was born with Down Syndrome. I wrote this post several years ago, but it kind of gives you a glimpse into my family and our life with Joshua. My blog is not about the facts and figures of Down Syndrome. You can look all of that up on The Google. I write about my husband and our 4 kids, but the blog is mainly about Joshua, and his antics. He is such a mess! I don't have any answers or any real advice for anyone. I can only share my story of how God has used the unexpected diagnosis of Down Syndrome...for our good and for His glory. 

The first time I heard the term "Cinderella Complex," you know...boy meets girl, they fall in love, live happily ever after in unrealistic bliss...I thought, "wow! that's me!"

Now, I didn't have a bad childhood...I didn't have a wicked step-mother or evil step-sisters. I had a mom and dad who loved each other, and 3 younger siblings. I would call it a "typical" American happy home. That's how I see it, anyway. We weren't rich, by any stretch of the imagination, but we had what we needed, and more. Even at an young age, I remember feeling really blessed.

My Dad was in the Air Force, and we lived all over the United States...and in two foreign countries. It was super hard, growing up and always, ALWAYS being the "new kid." Once I got to college, tho, I could really see how God used my upbringing to prepare me for being in situations where I didn't know a soul. And how to be okay with those times when I was alone. Or when I felt alone.

When Jim and I married, I thought everything was always going to be great...and it has been great.

Listen at me...lookin' at life all half-full and everything!

Of course, there were times during our first few years together when things were a little un-bliss-like as we got to know each other, and figured out boundaries and family and how we wanted to live our lives.

When I got pregnant after 5 years of marriage, we were so excited! I mean, that's what we had planned...graduate from college, get a job, buy a house, have a baby. It was all going according to our plans. We had no doubt that our baby would arrive right on schedule, and that God would give us the desires of our hearts. Because nature tells us that A + B= C, and we were doing A and B...living a "good" life and trying to honor God in all that we did...and so God would naturally do C, which would be a perfectly healthy baby and a wonderfully blessed life.

That's how it works, right?

As the time grew near for the birth of our baby boy, we signed up for the childbirth classes. We were put in a class with 11 other couples. At the first meeting, the leader had us all fill out little ice-breaker questionnaires. One of the questions was "I hope my baby is _______" and we were supposed to fill in the blank. 23 people in the class put "normal."

I put "cute."

See what I"m talking about?

It never occurred to me that my baby would be anything other than healthy...and anything other than cute.

My first clue that Cinderella might have fallen out of her pumpkin carriage was the emergency c-section that we didn't have planned. And the 2nd and final clue were the words, "you have a boy...and he has Down Syndrome."

"For this boy I prayed; and the LORD has given me what I asked of him." 1 Samuel 1:27