The Word and the Witch

There was a word that was sometimes used within the kingdom, that was feared and hated by the King and Queen. People used it to describe things they hated, things they found ridiculous or lacking in common sense. It could be used to describe someone who was acting stupidly. And the King and Queen knew that someday, somewhere, someone would use it to hurt the Lightning Kid.

Luckily, there were movements afoot, where people pledged not to use the word, and the King and Queen were not confronted with its use as often as they feared. Still, one day, a witch called the leader of a great land the dreaded word, and many were up in arms over the statement.

The King knew the witch to be what she was, meaning it was in her nature to say things that were cruel, mean, evil or false. She would continue to say such things as she always had, and never apologize, so there was no sense making such demands. The King envied the Queen, who had never heard of this creature; but he felt drawing more attention to the witch would only give her more power.

Still the furore continued, and the King began to change his mind. While he remained steadfast in his belief that the witch could not be redeemed, he figured that by calling out her transgression, others who did not wish to be identified with the witch's evil ways would realize their use of the dreaded word was inappropriate. So he made her use of the word known, and he made it known that the word offended the royal family, and it was an offence against the young prince.

Knowing how awful the witch was, people took the pledge in droves...

The Lightning Kid and the Boobless Wonder

One day the Lightning Kid woke up from a nap, and he was hungry. He cried, and found a shape moving toward him. The shape looked, sounded, and smelled like his father the King, but he was too desperate for milk to be bothered to find out.

He cried some more as the shape tried to pull him out of his sleep-sack. Since this did not involve nipples or milk, the Lightning Kid twisted, turned and fought with all the electrical energy within his little body.

The shape tried to stand him up on his change table. This gave the little prince the chance to search for precious boobs by pulling down the neckline of the shirt he found. There were no boobs, but there were a few hairs that only his little fingers would be able to grab. Once he had almost a fistful, he was able to give them a good pull. The shape yelped but still did not give him the milk he wanted.

The Lightning Kid had noticed that the shape's chest was not shaped like boobs, but he must have figured that nipples might still be under that shirt, so with a marksman's precision, he reached out, grabbed at the shirt at precisely the right spot, then squeezed with his freakish, lightning powered strength. The shape screamed, and the next thing the Lightning Kid knew, he was being handed over to the Queen, where he could feed to his heart's content.

It would not be the last time the young prince would face the Boobless Wonder, but his brave tactics always resulted in victory and milk.
Sent wirelessly from my BlackBerry device on the Bell network.
Envoyé sans fil par mon terminal mobile BlackBerry sur le réseau de Bell.

Standing On the Shoulders of Giants

While there are many Down Syndrome Superstars nowadays, and a great community of DS Advocates and parents on social media and the blogosphere, it's important to remember those who have blazed the trail for us.  Before blogs, before the internet even, there were families striving to give their children, brothers and sisters the best opportunities and the best lives possible, in a world that probably seemed like it was bent on denying them those same chances.

The Lightning Kid turned one year old, and the King and Queen could hardly believe that much time had passed, nor how much different their world seemed.  The Princes' birthdays were cause for wild, festive celebration, and much was done to mark the occasion.   For the King and Queen, though, it was also a time to reflect.

The King took more walks alone, and though he had chastised himself for doing it too much all too recently, he found himself trying to stare into the future.  He climbed to the top of a hill and stared ahead at the horizon.  As usual, much was cloudy, and unknowable.  Still, he found that if he really concentrated, he could pierce the fog with his vision, and see quite far indeed.

The world of the Lightning Kid's future was one where he could ride as a knight, as any other prince might expect to.  He could serve his kingdom, as any other prince might expect to.  He could marry a princess, as any other prince might expect to.  The King marveled, and asked himself not only how such a future might be possible, but how he could even bring it into focus, when such things would have been unimaginable in his youth.  He turned his eyes from the horizon to his feet, and that was when he noticed that he was not standing on a hill, but on the shoulders of a Giant.  He looked around some more, and the Giant was one of many, all gathered in a cluster, all facing the same direction.

The King turned to the Giants and said: "Thank-you for what you have done; for the strides you have taken, and the ground you have broken for families like mine.  It couldn't have been easy, nor will our path be an easy one, but I hope that we will one day grow to your stature, and that those that follow us might one day see further still by standing on our shoulders too."

Shark Boy`s Day in the Sun (and Shadow)

As the autumn deepened, the Prince’s birthdays approached.  When Shark Boy turned three years of age, the King and Queen had time to reflect.  They thought warmly of the ways their lives had changed, and the ways they themselves had been transformed as people by becoming parents.

“I am so proud of our rambunctious, fun-loving, goofy, sporty, adventurous, energetic, generous, loving and charismatic little guy! “ announced the Queen.  He possessed all these qualities and more, thought the King.  He was also clearly bright, strong in body and will and would have made any father proud.  What the King had said made him the proudest, however, was his good heart.  Shark Boy knew how to show kindness to many, but none more so than the Lightning Kid, who he regularly smothered with hugs and affection.

Shark Boy’s birthday came and was a grand day indeed.  The sun seemed to shine upon him, and he took full advantage; in that light, the King felt like he could see into his future.  A child like the Lightning Kid would be blessed to have a brother like Shark Boy, and the King and Queen could be proud of how they were raising him so far.  Still, as the King thought ahead (as he was wont to do), he knew the Lightning Kid would need the care of an older brother when he and the Queen would be long gone.  And then he felt guilty for saddling Shark Boy with that responsibility.  He worried further, since he knew it would likely be impossible for the Lightning Kid to have children of his own, it would fall to Shark Boy have heirs to the throne and transform the King and Queen into grandparents.

It was too far away to worry about, and the King had learned not to have expectations, as nothing in life was written or promised, and still he worried about putting undue pressure on Shark Boy.  Yet as he thought about the joy that parenthood had brought the Queen and him, he could hope that he would be able to show that joy over the course of Shark Boy`s life, and he knew that whatever choices he would make for his own life, he would understand that having family, caring for and loving family was both a gift and a privilege.   The King realized that Shark Boy`s  good heart would always be his greatest strength and that he would always cherish family.