Green Onions can be grown in your garden, but they are far from ordinary. The delicate bulb is pulled from the soil before it is fully developed, giving it a mild flavor that is appreciated by many. The smell reveals itself before you enter the room. We enjoy green onions in soup, salad, or by themselves. But whatever the color- yellow, red, white or green- an onion is still an onion.
Life is full of green onions. Things that are just a little different than what we are accustomed to, things that strike us as a bit unusual. We tend to avoid these green onions,unless someone slips them into a recipe and we find ourselves enjoying their unique flavor.
"Excuse me Excuse me!" I called to a lady walking past me in the Walmart aisle.
"I'm sorry do I know you?"
"No, you don't, but I wanted to ask, does your son have Down-syndrome?" I said. I figured if he did then I could share my story. If he didn't, well, then I probably wouldn't see this person again. So what did I have to lose!?
"Yes, he does" she replied with a stern look on her face, ready to defend her child.
"My six month old son has Down Syndrome too." I replied. Her faced softened, and an immediate understanding passed between us. A friendship began that day.
When I first looked at this woman's little blond boy, about two and a half years old, I saw my sons future. I saw my future. And I was frightened. Not because this boy was disabled or different, but because he was so normal. He was trying to pull things off the shelves, trying to throw things out of the cart, and he was eating french fries. This was what I had to look forward to? How was I ever going to keep up with a two-year-old?
More important than my initial fright of this little boys energy was the calm feeling that engulfed me. I looked at this mother and thought, she is just like me. She is young, vibrant, and genuinely happy. I could see wisdom and contentment in her eyes. I could tell that she was comfortable with her son. She knew who he was. She was not fazed by a diagnosis, or society's definition of her child. And from her initial response to me, I knew she was poised and ready to be an advocate for him.
That day in the wal mart aisle, my life changed. Normally, I would have gone about my business, never noticing that beautiful little boy with his courageous mother. They would have sneaked by me without a second glance and I would have been deprived of the privilege of knowing them, would have missed the honor of being their friend. And heres the irony of the situation. Remember how I figured I'd never run into that woman again? Well, I am constantly running into my friend at wal mart. Its been two years since our first meeting, and although our hectic lives don't allow us to visit as often as we would like, the times we do share are wonderful. We've enjoyed play dates at each others homes. Whenever we peek in on the two boys playing, each appears to be doing his own things, but the disarray in the living room suggests that they enjoy plenty combined mischief.
I knew that being a mother would change me, that I would experience a love that words could not describe, that I would become a member of the "Don't mess with my kid" club. I didn't know that being Anthony s mom would unlock another world, a world where I approach complete strangers because I think we may have something in common. Tonight I will watch my green onion as he sleeps and that him for helping me experience life's robust flavor.
This story reminds me when I was first pregnant I was watching Sarah Palin my Alaska (because we just moved to Alaska) I remember when they did a show on her son who was born with Downsyndrome. I looked at him differently he opened my eyes. Maybe it was mother instincts as this little baby that was growing inside of me had downsyndrome which I was soon to find out. He fascinated me. There was another little boy who was older then Trig (Sarah's son) who had downs, Sara spent the day with him. At the end of the day she was in tears because he inspired her and gave her hope for her son Trigg. He was such a bright little boy. Loved that episode. I thought I was crying because of my pregnancy hormones but It was so much more.
This is Sara and her cuteness Trig
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