Family Resemblance

I received a very special e-mail today. The subject line read, "My son looks like your son!" I opened it and found a wonderful letter from a WS mother in Australia who watched videos of Erik on You Tube. In fact, she said he looks so much like her son that her other children were confused as to why their brother was in a video on line speaking in a strange accent! To access photos of this little boy, I joined the Australia WS forum but have yet to be accepted and see them yet. I never dreamed I would meet such wonderful people from so many different countries! It is strange their children look a lot like my own and yet it makes me feel like we are part of a giant family. HOLLA to all my friends in Australia! The map on my blog is lighting up with your energy!

My parents returned yesterday from working on one of the Northwest's biggest bicycle tours, a yearly tradition for them. They brought back a generous offering of leftover fruit and sugar cookies. I am now down over 25 pounds but made sure to sample the cookies (totally worth it). I put many of them in the freezer for Erik's birthday party in October. To put some of the fruit to good use, I baked an apple-cinnamon bundt cake and a moist apple Hanukkah cake this afternoon, and the house smells wonderful and cinnamon-y. I will send one cake to Brian's office tomorrow and serve the other after a pork tenderloin dinner this evening with my folks.

There is a lot churning in my brain right now. My mother spoke with a relative of Mary, the local woman with WS, during the trip, and she mentioned that Mary's mother, the one who wrote the newspaper article I posted earlier, speaks often about how very difficult it is to be a parent of a child with WS. I admit that hearing this took my breath away and made my stomach sink. Just exactly what was I expecting this woman to say? That with time, it all gets unbelievably easy and you don't think twice about it anymore? Maybe. In my mind, she is a supermother with all of the answers. The fact that she is human just like me is terrifying. Knowing this will be difficult forever is also a pretty bitter pill to swallow. I know the truth but facing/accepting it is a completely different ballgame and much easier said than done. Thankfully, there is nothing that says we must accept or face anything on any set timeline, and as long as I do not compromise Erik's health or happiness, I will keep my hopes and dreams alive. There are days I need to stoke the fire in this regard, but that is to be expected.

I have yet to connect with Mary or her mother but am anticipating this will happen in the near future, and I have complete faith that hearing bits and pieces about her is just one more step in preparing me to handle it all. Things seem to be falling together for me, as they always seem to do. It has been difficult hearing rumors about this family for years now. There are times when I think I should just pick up the phone and call her to get it over with, but I don't have her number. Waiting is becoming a form of torture. Hopefully my phone number has made its way to her through Mary's aunt, and she will call.

For all I know, she may be reading this very post.