A friend told me Lauren Potter was coming to Alaska to do a speech and a meet & greet. To be honest I had no idea who she was. I was asked "Don't you watch Glee?" The answer was no. I saw the TV show being talked about on about every channel but didn't pay much attention. My friend told me that Lauren has Down Syndrome and she is a famous Actress. I began to be curious, so of course I Googled her. Instantly I became inspired, and admired her sweet face.
On this show she wasn't a girl with special needs, she was rather mouthy, and funny. I loved it! I continued to research saw videos of her outgoing personality and awareness commercials her mom. Instant eye opener. I thought to myself what an inspiration, it was great to see such a positive look on Down Syndrome when I have quickly noticed only the bad is ever mentioned.
My husband, myself and our two boys went to the meet and greet. The speaker announced Lauren, she walked out with her mom right behind her. She was short, a little round face, a big smile and a small voice. She couldn't see over the podium but she didn't care. She read her speech with complete confidence. Afterwards she answered questions. SHE LOVED THE ATTENTION! She was asked questions and if she didn't understand the question her mom would help her. At one point Lauren said "Im sorry about my mom, shes a mom that's what she does." she was referring to her answering some questions.
A lady wanted to ask Lauren's mom a question about Lauren being bullied and how she went about to teach Lauren to deal with it. Lauren says " my mom taught me that enough is enough, If you cant say something nice, don't say anything at all." Lauren's mom took the mic and started talking about her experiences as a mom and how hard some situations were for her. My ears were open to what she had to say because I feared when my baby would be bullied.Her mom started naming all the positive things about Lauren "Well you can see she is nice, polite, friendly, outgoing...." Lauren grabbed the mic and said "Dont forget Smart mom." ha ha her mom replied back and said " and very humble."
I was soaking it all in as I was looking around, the room was full of people with smiles on their faces admiring Lauren, not because of her disability but of so much more. I could see that Lauren was pushed to her full potential from her mom, and I am going to do everything I can to push Mason to his.
After all the questions Lauren was ready to do meet and greets. We stood in line. Lauren looked up from signing her autograph, looked our direction and said "oooooo hiiiiiii!" at first my husband and I looked around curious to who she was talking to. She continued to bat her eyes, and wave in a very flirty manner. Then it hit me, she was hitting on my husband!!!! hahaha. He instantly turned red, and looked down as everybody looked his direction. She looked at me and said " Wait Is that your husband?" I laughed and nodded.
Her mom soon came over to us and apologized. She instantly asked how old Mason was, I told her and I told her that he had Down Syndrome. She looked at him differently, and became more interested in talking to Mike and I. We felt very comfortable and was asking questions about Lauren growing up, health issues, and any advice she could give us.
She looked at us and said "Let him lead the way! Dylan is going to be a BIG help because Mason will want to do everything Dylan can do and it will keep Mason motivated." She told us Lauren was walking by 2 years old, which the doctors told her she wouldn't be walking until closer to 4. She told us to educate ourselves, and surround us with people who are going through the same thing or have went through the same experiences. She gave us her phone number, and email told us to call her with any questions and if we were ever in California to give her a call and we could meet up. This was the first person we ever talked to who had a kid with Downs. There was no judgement, complete understanding, and most of all she didn't feel sorry for us. One of the first things she said to us was "I'm going to tell you Congratulations because I'm sure all you got was questions, and "I'm Sorry" so... CONGRATULATIONS you two." It meant a lot to us because she hit the nail on the head with that statement.
I have quickly learned to shrug off what people say, and try not to take things personally. I continue to learn, grow, and keep pushing through. I want nothing but the best for my son and there is no stopping no matter how hard things get.
Lauren's mom told her daughter that Mason had Down Syndrome. Lauren grabbed my son and started kissing on him and telling him how great and special he was. We captured that moment on camera. She wrote on her picture "I love you, Lauren" We put the picture in a frame and she will always be an inspiration to our family.
