Hello - anyone still out there? (Why I haven't written in a while)

HELLO!  Did you miss me?  I know you are probably super surprised to see a post from A Brighter Sunshine show up on your reading list or in your inbox.  I just kind of fell off the circuit didn't I?

Well I'm probably not back for good but I am going to try my best to get some posts out in honor of Down syndrome awareness month and '31 for 21' which starts today.  First if you are still reading this blog then I guess I owe you an explanation for my absence.  Really that is a twofold thing - one is the simplest answer, I'm completely busy and frequently overwhelmed by daily life so writing was the easy place to cut back.  The other reason is I just needed to step away from Ds.  Not sure that makes sense to most people but when I am writing blog posts, I feel the need to read blog posts and articles about Ds.  Not sure why except if someone is reading my blog it is only polite to read theirs, right?  And I love reading blogs about the daily lives of kids like Cate - it is inspiring and motivating, which makes it easy to fall down the rabbit hole.  I kind of obsess when I get too far into that habit - I spend hours reading blogs which leads to links to interesting articles about Ds around the country and the world, which leads to reading comments, which leads to outrage at how awful people can be, which leads to a need to advocate more.  All of that can be a really good thing until it starts messing with my perspective.  My reality is that our daily lives are not ruled by Ds but by two pint sized, strong personalities which take all my focus and the majority of my time. The last year has held some new challenges, new milestones, and a lot of fun.  For the month of October, I am going to do some reflecting of the time that has past since my last post in November 2013 and try to share some of that with you because I do love the Ds community  and I am an advocate at heart so it makes me happy to think that maybe I helped one person out there deal with an issue or at the very least made them realize they are not alone in this crazy life!

Now all that talk is well and good but truly you probably just want to see a picture of Cate, right?  When I look at my last couple posts I can't believe how much she has grown and matured.  I swear she is two inches taller and not a pound heavier.  She is getting adjusted to the third grade, swimming, horseback riding, cheerleading and starting to become very independent (in reality instead of just in her head!). 

 

Just a taste - at the very least I promise more pictures this week!
Thanks for sticking around!