I watch Wil, and the way he entertains himself. He sings to every song he hears, he stands up and dances to every theme song of his favorite show, and invites me to dance with him.
He dances full on, without abandon. The thought of looking silly does not even cross his mind. In fact, if it does, the sillier the better!
Wil doesn’t wait for a moment to happen to him. He doesn’t know he’s supposed to. He creates and goes after his own dreams right then and there on the spot.
He gets frustrated like all of us, yes. He spent most of kindergarten crawling under the table to get out of doing his lesson.
But, he doesn’t hold on to that. When he was ready to read, he read, and he reads with gusto! He laughs and adds sound effects to his books.
He creates a moment in every moment.
I’ve taken that lesson from him, and though I’m not as skilled as he is, I’m learning.
Every day, I take moments to be mindful to create and appreciate. I take moments to be mindful of what I want from this life. To be mindful of the little pieces that bring me joy; the comfort in my husband’s embrace, the brightness and innocence of Katherine’s smile, the way Elizabeth is always sure to share an extra long hug and “I love you” before bed, and the giggle that takes over Wil’s whole body and radiates so I find myself giggling hysterically with him and not even knowing why. It is these moments that are created that give deeper meaning to life.
Some days, I want to crawl under a table and hide, and I allow myself that, too. But, when I’m ready, I come out, and dance and sing, and try again. And, I find that strength to emerge by simply enjoying a moment fully for that moment.
Today is another day to create, to be, to enjoy. Today is another day to grab life by the hands, create the moment, dance with it, and giggle with it, and giggle so hard that the vibration carries through life, and life shares that moment fully with you.
Stories of Wil, my son, who has Down syndrome 