Anything But Ugly

Blogging Friends.... Look for my May fictional children's story which will be posted on Minuscule is good! {Lord willing!!} on May 1st!! I am going to begin the process of writing it today!! Happy. Me!! Love you later.

I was sitting at this very flat screened desktop computer last week typing away. Suddenly, out of nowhere, Writer's Block struck. Nothing pleases me more than to beat and overcome such a challenge as an artist!! Nothing. Pleases. Me. More. So, I allowed Attention Deficit Disorder to take complete command over my mind and logged onto Internet Explorer. I was simply going to fool around, wasting time which should have been spent writing. Or so I thought. What my eyes saw was a headline that read something to this effect. Mom rips apart troll who called her kid 'ugly'. Then I saw an adorable, huge smiling, blond-haired, shirtless little dude with Down syndrome. His name is Quinn. I clicked on the story and read it. Like, twice. Apparently some Reader on Mama Megan's Instagram page wrote a single-messaged comment. "Ugly", he {I am assuming!!} wrote. And Megan's response was, I thought, very classy. Not at all overly judgmental. Now. Being a weird, crazy oddball, I have never--never--been one to "jump the bandwagon", as that phrase goes. But with this story? Entirely on impulse--my heart playing the drums for Bruce Springsteen's band--I found Megan's Blog, sent some good old-fashioned love in her direction, and joined hundreds upon hundreds of commenters!! Because I had to. See. I have something in common with Hollywood actor Jamie Foxx. Something cosmic, and very, very, very personal. No, I am not a rich, hugely successful movie star. Although. I did dream of that career as a teenager!! No, I am not good friends with Robert Downey Jr.  Although. That would be pretty freakin' awesome!! No, I am not an African-American male. Well. Obviously!! So what, exactly, do Jamie Foxx and I share in common? We both have a sibling who was born with Down syndrome!! Oh yeah!! I have a brother with Down syndrome!! His name is Michael. Well. He is known as "Uncle Michael" to Rose!! Have I ever mentioned that before? Not on Beautifully Unique, I'm afraid. But Kelle Hampton {Nella's Mama!!} knows. As does Patti. {Lily's Mama!!} Yes, it seems that I am slowly but surely acquiring Blogs written by mothers who have brought sweet children into this world born with an extra chromosome!! Cool!! I wrote this in a comment on Megan's Blog. Megan.... Hi there, I just read the story Online about that Reader who wrote and called your son, Quinn "ugly". How can people be so cruel?! I love, love, loved the reply that you gave him!! It was very bold!! Firstly. When I saw Quinn's picture, I immediately knew that he has Down syndrome. Just like my youngest brother, who is--gasp!!--21 years old now. He used to be that little. What happened?! He is my very best friend, and we share everything with each other!! Thoughts. Feelings. Interests. Each other's rubber croc-like shoes, even!! My brother constantly amazes me!! Secondly. Quinn is--as my phrase goes--Beautifully Unique!! Which is the absolute opposite of "ugly". Trust me on that one!! Love you later, Raelyn. There is something about Quinn--to which my Mom can't but agree with--he looks just like a toddler version of our Michael!! Which leads me to peer into the unforeseeable future. Because I can't help but wonder. Will Quinn someday have a goatee on his chin because he wants to "be like Robert Downey Jr."? Michael does!! Will Quinn's almond-shaped eyes someday reveal distinctive laugh lines when he smiles? Michael's does!! Will Quinn someday possess an even deeper tone of voice than his oldest brother? Michael does!! My brother is a much better person than I will ever be. He's cheerful. Tenderhearted. Forgiving. Thoughtful. Loving. Funny. He's a servant. To mention only a few of his positives!! Michael also loves any subject that I like. Or my sister. Or our Mom. He simply has the ability to love whatever we like!! Although Michael is not, by any means, a completely flawless being, what I possess in character defects, he makes up for in character qualities. Among Michael's interests are movies, music, sports, good friends, canines, plus his birthday. And should I also mention that he's a fanatic of Jamie Foxx?! Now, Michael and I have twain incredible things in common. One. We were both born with life-threatening birth defects. Me? I was born with congenital diaphragmatic hernia. And craniosynostosis. Michael? He was born with multiple holes in his heart. That being mentioned. Michael and I are both fighters, both survivors, we're both "hard to kill", as the phrase goes!! We both have surgically-created scars!! Which I've always found to be pretty neat, actually!! The other thing that Michael and I share in common? We both have "special needs"!! Or learning disabilities, if you will. Michael has an incredibly brilliant "con-man" of a mind. For he is "Psyche", like Shawn Spencer from the television show on USA Network. Nothing gets past him!! Because he knows. And, unlike Shawn Spencer, Michael is not putting on some "act"!! Yeah, he actually can read people's minds!! It is kind of freaky!! Michael--like every single anything-but-ugly individual with Down syndrome--was blessed with an extra chromosome. Yes, blessed. And, you know what? I feel so very blessed to have Michael in my life!! So very blessed....