World Down Syndrome Day 2018

A few years back, Eli asked to talk to his 4th grade class about World Down Syndrome Day. This year, Maddux followed suit. (She claims she did this last year, but none of us remember that, and surely we would!) Just after Christmas, Maddux started talking through a power point presentation she planned to put together to show her class. She was granted permission by her teacher, and went to work. In true Maddux fashion, it was 300% heart with just about 80% work: the night before she was to present, the power point was still being worked on. But that is to say nothing of the sentiment of it all. While Maddux wanted to do this 'big' thing in her class, what she has done in every class, and in the whole school, is introduce kids to Ruby in a way that is all things good. She always brags on her sister and introduces them to her friends and teachers. The whole school already knows Ruby, and it's largely in part to her amazing big sister.

The day before World Down Syndrome Day, Maddux got up in front of her class and gave the presentation she practiced at home. She said there were a few questions, but mostly the kids just listened and agreed to participate by wearing different socks (and red, for Ruby). The morning of, I went to Maddux's class to get a picture of her and her friends. It was so cool to see all of these kids participating in something they might not have known anything about before Maddux's presentation. We reminded her how cool it was that she impacted those kids in such a big way; their interactions with people with Down syndrome - or maybe just people who are different from them - will be forever changed.