Down Syndrome Indiana Holiday Party

I'm not sure what I'm going to write about in this post. So I will start basic. We went to the DS Indiana Holiday party last Sunday. It was fun. There was a yummy dinner and dancing. Pretty much the entire time the dance floor was FULL of kids and people dancing. Alright now that the basics are out of the way...the other stuff.  Every time I go to one of these functions I leave feeling weird. We don't know anybody there. We always sit at a table and hope somebody will sit by us but they never do. So we talk to very few, if any, people. I don't really feel like I belong. I get nervous around the older people with Down syndrome. There was a few teenage girls with Ds that were really dancing on the dance floor. I was nervous that they would come take my hand to dance with them. Some of the other parents totally had their groove on and would dance with whoever wanted to dance with them. They didn't care who it was...they just danced with them. People ask us if Kyler and Strider are twins. They're not. Nobody asks if Kyler and Taegen are twins. They are. It probably doesn't help the cause that Kyler and Strider can and do sometimes wear the same clothes. Anyways, I really don't know what I am trying to say. I just wonder if I will ever feel like I belong to "that" group. And what exactly is "that" group?  When I look at Kyler I don't see Down syndrome. But then I seem to notice EVERYBODY who does have Down syndrome.  Is it because I'm more aware? I don't know. If I am at a park or something and see a child with Down syndrome. I will seek out the parents and talk with them because I feel like we have a connection. But if I get in a group of people who all have a family member with Down syndrome. I feel out of place and awkward. I don't know. Maybe I am still adjusting. Maybe I will always be adjusting. But adjusting to what? Having a child with Down syndrome. What about adjusting to having a child without Down syndrome. After all, I did have both at the same time. Anyways, ahhhh. Obviously, I'm confused.

 

Notice the couple right behind Taegen. They both have Ds and they danced the entire night because they are boyfriend and girlfriend. They were actually really cute and funny to watch.

The boys were totally dance/wrestling/tackling the whole time. They would dance and then hug and tip over and laugh and do it again and again and again and again. There was a girl probably about 13 with Ds that was watching them. I think they almost gave her a heart attack. Literally, every time they tipped over she would clench her teeth and get ready to stand up to help them up. There also was a little gansta teen boy with Ds. Everyone was dressed in Sunday clothes but he was in jeans and a sideways hat. One time Strider tripped and fell down. This boy leaned down and gave Strider his hand to help him up. Strider just looked at his hand for about 2 whole minutes. Literally, a LONG time. The boy just kept offering it to Strider. Finally Strider took his hand and he helped him up and both were on their way. I'm not sure why those stories are relevant...except that they are. After the boys weren't being cute anymore  - we left.