Anyway, recently my heart has been full of gratitude for and pride in my amazing family. Over the next month (or two--big family!), I want to write a blog post about each of my family members.
Today I'm writing about my beloved Sarah, who will turn 24 this month. You may know her as Pink Princess. Or Disney Princess. Or Sarah Barah. Or Dad's Best Buddy. Or any number of other aliases depending on the day. Or play.
First, let me just tell you three things I love about Sarah. 1) Her memory. She's like a walking IMDB. This doesn't always bode well when you are hoping she'll forget something you promised to do. Haha. 2) Her creativity. Since she knows she has trouble making small talk with people (another symptom of Selective Mutism, which I'll get to in a minute), she came up with a way to get past that mental block. Since she feels anxious when responding to "Hey Sarah, how are you?" she says it in Spanish. Why that helps? Not sure, but she's pretty brilliant for coming up with her own coping strategy. 3) Her ability to dream big. When asked why she didn't like learning "job skills" in her program for adults with disabilities, she explained that recycling cans or cleaning tables was boring, and she didn't want to do that for her job. Her dreams? One of them was to be on Broadway. You know what? You go girl. There are plenty of successful actors with Down Syndrome (e.g., Chris Burke, and up-and-comer Lauren Potter).
Second, I want to try to put to paper some of the things that have been on my heart lately relating to Sarah.
Sarah is one of the bravest people I know. She struggles with social phobia and selective mutism, and yet she has conquered so much! She knows she still has some things to work on, but guess what, she keeps trying! For those of you who may not be familiar with these anxiety disorders, just know that the physical reaction Sarah experiences when she is (for example) introduced to someone new is very similar to the reaction someone who is claustrophobic might feel if trapped in a tight space. Anxiety. Fear. Racing heart. Trembling. If this was your struggle, would you face it every single day? Just imagine if you experienced these symptoms when...making eye contact, being teased, finding yourself the center of any kind of attention, knowing a joke is about to make everyone laugh, feeling embarassed, writing or talking in front of people, having to say please or thank you... Add to that having a visible disability, like Down Syndrome, which invites all sorts of attention, and you might have some inkling what Sarah deals with--and overcomes--every day.
ABC had an article a few years back about a child with selective mutism, and this quote really stood out to me: "Now, when she is out with her mother at a store, Morgan can hand money to the cashier. That's something she could not have accomplished before she began her treatment." Let me just tell you something. That was Sarah. She was not able to interact with cashiers. Now she can walk into Target by herself, pick out what she wants, go to the check out, swipe her debit card, enter her PIN, and take her receipt from the cashier. Did I tell you she has Down Syndrome too? And it's heartbreaking that in so many other countries (and not so long ago in our own country), she likely would have been institutionalized for any one of the things I've mentioned in this post.
The funny thing is, I haven't even come close to telling you about everything she has accomplished! Who walked across a stage in a huge auditorium to accept her certficate of completion from Elk Grove high school? Oh, just my sister.Who performed a solo dance, as The Rose, center stage, in Beauty and the Beast? Yup, she did that too.
Who regularly performs dances for audiences ranging from the living room to church to community events? Sarah again!
In summary (yes, I'm almost done), I could talk for days about how proud I am of the things Sarah has accomplished in life, especially considering the challenges she faces. I've really only touched on a couple of the reasons I'm so proud!
Ok, so what are the take aways? 1) Give people the opportunity to show you their capabilities...they may surprise you. 2) Don't let fear keep you from trying new things. 3) Um, my sister is awesome.
If you made it to the end-wow! Thanks for letting me share my heart. I love you, my sweet sister, and Happy Early Birthday!
