Being different 31 for 21 day 3

Why is being different talked about so much?  Why can't we learn to respect and admire people for the very things that make them stand out?  My son loves the color pink.  As in, "mom, can we paint my room bubblegum pink and lime green?"  Uh, no son, I really don't want to have to repaint in 6 months when you change your mind, but we could pick up a nice comforter set in those colors!  Every day his love for pink is on display.  His main pair of shoes that he wears is a very traditional shoe.  Popular name brand, style is just like every other million pairs being worn today.  What I love about his shoes though are his hot pink shoelaces!  He has no fear about wearing them. Same with his skates--typical look, but the hot pink laces are present.   In middle school, kids are trying to find themselves and their way around the maze of adolescents.  It can be a very trying time and I most certainly have found that out this past year.  Every day that he wears these, this is a statement about how one small difference can stand out.  I am reminded of that every time I look at them.  I love that he is bold enough not to care what people think. 
Which leads me to the small difference the extra chromosome makes.  My Katie was born with one extra chromosome--the difference between standing out and blending in with the crowd.  We went to our local amusement park this weekend.  She was the object of quite a few stares and second glances.  When I tell you that I am so blessed to live here, I really mean it.  In the three years that I have lived here, I have never once heard any comments about how my daughter looks that hasn't been anything but positive.  I know that the rude comment or joke at her expense is probably coming.  Breaks my heart before it even happens.  I believe in the good of man and I believe it far outweighs the shortcomings of man, but I am realistic in that I know that there is a lot of cruelty in this world and my daughter is going to experience that one day because there is still so much ignorance out there.   Does she get stared out?  You betcha!  I watch people watching her.  I notice people noticing her. It makes my heart proud though.  You know why?  People notice the difference and they really don't care!  I have heard many horror stories over the last 3 years about rude, snarky comments made to other people.  I have cried tears over people who couldn't accept the extra chromosome.  I have been angry over the ignorance of what people DON'T know about special needs and Down syndrome and how they see these kids as people who "suffer" from this condition.  I am saddened that so many parents choose to abort these wonderful blessings when they hear the words Down syndrome.  I am frustrated that misconceptions still exist about what people with Down sydrome can and can't do.  Yet I know that each interaction my daughter has with someone, maybe she is helping to change that person's perception of life. 
Being different is about being your own person.  It is being true to who you were born to be.  It is about saying pink shoelaces are the bomb no matter how many people see it as ugly.  It is about having 3 copies of the 21st chromosome and rocking those chromosomes for all they are worth! 
My daughter is more like her peers than different.  She is learning everyday.  She is the second glances, she is the face to say "hey, I look a little different than most people, but man, don't I look good!"  Who knows, maybe one day Katie will be the one rocking out the colored shoelaces with the very typical shoes, showing that being different is really just being yourself and that is a great thing to have ownership of.   She already rocks everything else she does! 

Just a note---I originally wrote this post in April 2010. I guess I saved it in my drafts and forgot about posting it. I thought I would share it tonight. My son doesn't wear hot pink laces anymore, but he still loves all things pink. Of course Katie and I are just like him--we love pink too!