got this. It's going to be okay." Since then, every
once in a while I find myself in one of those extraor-
dinarily ordinary moments straight out of
the dream. I remember that, as Julian of Norwich
said, "All shall be well, and all shall be well and all
manner of thing shall be well."
tried to explain what it meant. "She will always need
someone," he said. "How is that so different from the
rest of us?" I thought.
I thought, "How is that so different from the rest of us?"
what every child needs. Take her home and love her."
For a long time I would say, "She has Down syn-
with "but not like other people." It took me a long time
to be able to say "She has Down syndrome." Period. Isa-
belle also happens to have verbal apraxia. (which means
there's a disconnect between her brain and her mouth.)
We are a family of storytellers. She is determined to
have her turn. So a conversation with Isabelle is a lot
like a word puzzle accompanied by charades.
He made me pretty good at word puzzles and
"Because He lives, I can face tomorrow.
Because He lives, all fear is gone.
Because I know, I know, He holds the future
with a disability. It reminds us to celebrate what
Isabelle can do instead of focusing on what she can't.
[Ed. note: See Essay on pg. 26.]
great multitude; for the battle is not yours but God's.
means fighting bat-
changing, but the
God's helps us to face
worship, when she interacts with the preacher, when
she goes to the mercy seat every week to pray for the Jo-
nas Brothers and One Direction, and when she takes her
imaginary friends to the mercy seat to pray with them.
us. One of our blessings is Anne Lipnick, my special edu-
cation "maven" (a Yiddish word that means "she un-
derstands"). Everything I know about special education
somehow can be traced back to her. Resurrection Chil-
dren's Center, an inclusive preschool, saw Isabelle as a
gift to be unwrapped, not a problem to be solved. Ther-
apists worked together when we couldn't afford all the
recommended therapies. Teachers rise to the challenge
that is Isabelle. Friends and fellow travelers on this jour-
ney generously share their lives with us.
What do I want people to know?
A rabbi was asked, "What is the appropriate blessing
swer: "Everyone wants a Mazel Tov"--a Yiddish phrase
meaning, "Good has happened to you."
to ask you not to use the "R" word.
just happens."
m
ch
Go