Good Life

from Truth Be Told by Shawn Rohe:

 

You know the song Good Life by One Republic…

  It is so applicable to my life.  Every time I hear it, I melt.  I truly have a Good Life!

Woke up in London yesterday

Found myself in the city near Piccadilly

Don't really know how I got here

I got some pictures on my phone

With this verse I instantly think of Welcome to Holland by Emily Perl Kingsley

New names and numbers that I don't know

So true!  Majority of the names and numbers stored in my contacts are relatively new.  Granted I know them now.  Less than a year ago, I knew none of them.

Address to places like Abbey Road

Day turns to night, night turns to whatever we want

We're young enough to say

Oh, this has gotta be the good life

This has gotta be the good life

This could really be a good life, good life

Gotta be the Good Life?  Nope. This IS the Good Life!

I say, "Oh, got this feeling that you can't fight"

Like this city is on fire tonight

This could really be a good life, a good, good life

To my friends in New York, I say hello

My friends in L.A. they don't know

Where I've been for the past few years or so

Paris to China to Colorado

To some of my friends I do say hello.  To the others, they are the ones in L.A.; they don’t know my new life.

Sometimes there's airplanes I can' t jump out

There was a point in the past 16mos that I could completely visualize myself on the edge of the airplane door, ready to jump out.

 

Sometimes there's bullshit that don't work now

There is stuff that doesn’t work now {relationships, techniques, systems, etc} and bullshit is exactly what it is.  

We are God of stories, but please tell me

What there is to complain about?

When you're happy like a fool, let it take you over

When everything is out you gotta take it in

What is there to complain about?  Nothing, I have a good life.  I occasionally need this song to shift my thought process, make me happy, and allow it to take over!

Hopelessly

I feel like there might be something that I'll miss

I do deal with a constant feeling that there is something that I’ll miss ~in regards to Natalie~ whether it’s a service, conference, seminar or class that I need to sign up for or enroll her in.  It’s a constant.  It will never go away. As she progresses and reaches milestones, as her parent, that means there's another step to be taken.

Hopelessly

I feel like the window closes oh so quick

This symbolizes my constant awareness that I need to be one step ahead.   If she misses something, if that window of closes to quickly; it’s my fault for not being there sooner to scoop up that opportunity. I am the only one to blame.

Hopelessly

I'm taking a mental picture of you now

My mental picture of Natalie is a side profile of her face.  I pray that it will be etched in my memory, forever.

'Cause hopelessly

The hope is we have so much to feel good about

I truly know that I have so much to feel good about!!

Oh, this has gotta be the good life

This has gotta be the good life

This could really be a good life, good life

I say, "Oh, got this feeling that you can't fight"

Like this city is on fire tonight

This could really be a good life, a good, good life

Oh yeah, good, good life, good life, oh, this is

This IS the Good Life!

Moms say their children with Down syndrome are ‘gifts’

from rosevillept.com:

On her blog, Christine Sheffield references a poem called “Welcome to Holland,” a place she’s never lived.

The poem was written by a mother about having a child with Down syndrome, an experience Sheffield can relate to since the birth of her son Braden. The poem likens having a baby with a disability to making big plans to visit Italy and ending up in Holland. You buy guidebooks, learn Italian phrases — it’s your dream destination.

So how did I get to Holland?

It’s a question asked by many parents once they find out their baby has Down syndrome. But, it turns out, Holland is a beautiful and majestic place, Sheffield writes. And she wants others who will never go there to know that, too.

“I want to show people that a Down syndrome diagnosis is not the end of the world,” Sheffield, 41, said. “It’s not something to be feared. The more we show we’re a normal family living a normal life, the more acceptance we’ll have in society.”

The Antelope resident has a blog about the joys of raising her 10-month-old son Braden. He has brought lots of surprises, including a trip to New York City Thursday. Sheffield, Braden and her 19-year-old daughter Ashley are attending the annual Buddy Walk event that kicks off October as Down Syndrome Awareness Month.

The family was invited to attend after a photo of Braden was chosen as part of a video that airs in Times Square during the walk.

Both raised in Roseville, Christine and her husband Danny Sheffield graduated from Oakmont High School and have been married 21 years. They already had five children — one died as a baby from sudden infant death syndrome — and Braden was a surprise.

Before learning she was pregnant, Sheffield read a magazine article about a local family adopting a Ukrainian baby with Down syndrome. She and her husband considered adopting a baby with a disability. Then she had her own.

“It’s not much different than being a mom of a baby without Down syndrome, or as we say, a ‘typical’ baby,” Sheffield said.

About 50 percent have a heart defect and Braden has a small hole that doctors expect will close. Some people with Down syndrome will develop vision and hearing loss, and thyroid problems.

Down syndrome is one of the most common genetic birth defects and affects about 3,400, or one in 800, babies in the United States a year, according to the National Down Syndrome Society.

Sheffield said some parents worry about the potential burden of raising a child with Down syndrome, which does involve extra trips to the doctors, extended care when the child ages and lots of future planning. Braden has low muscle tone and is developmentally delayed.

Sheffield says all these challenges are manageable, which doesn’t mean the times have never been tough.

“I don’t want to be negative,” she said. “But to some extent you become ‘that’ family. It’s not a blatant thing. You just feel a little isolated. But you realize you have the same life you had before, just with a new person in it, and it’s really no big deal.”

Sheffield got involved with Reece’s Rainbow ministry and joined The Sisterhood, a support group for moms of kids with Down syndrome in the greater Sacramento region. Another mom involved is Beth Herrington, of Roseville, who has a 13-month-old daughter named Chloe. She also has four other kids, ages 9 to 14 years old.

Chloe was a surprise — Herrington got pregnant at 42. The chance of having a baby with Down syndrome increases with the mother’s age, but 80 percent of babies with the condition are born to women under 35.

“It was this great gift,” Herrington said. “I was excited. I didn’t mourn the loss of the quote-unquote perfect child.”

She describes Chloe — who has a small hole in her heart — as beautiful and larger than life.
“I always compare it to being in public with a celebrity,” Herrington said. “Chloe gets so much attention.”

A few months ago, Herrington convinced her husband that they should adopt a baby with Down syndrome. They found Olivia from Ukraine, who is 7 months old. They hope to bring her home by January.

Herrington also blogs and wants people to realize that babies with Down syndrome are “more alike than different.”

“What an unbelievable joy they are,” Herrington said. “Even for parents who think their world has ended, weeks later they see it’s the best child in the world. It’s not a scary, horrible thing. It’s wonderful.”