Yesterday I wrote of my healthy baby, and by doing so, I wanted to poke a little in the (mis) conception that so many seem to have – of equating disability with health, or putting Health on the pedestal of All That Is Right in The World and worshiping it like so much an ancient Roman figurine.

I am grateful, very grateful for my own sparkling, stellar good health. I am equally grateful for the gleaming good fortune Health has gushed over my immediate family: Moxie, Micah and Mikey. Being sick sucks. It’s just no fun, unless of course you have lots of sick days at work, a bank of movies you want to watch, people to serve you and you aren’t actually sick enough to really be sick through it all. For most people though – it just sucks. It’s not fun.

But in saying that it sucks or it’s not fun, what am I saying? That sick people shouldn’t be alive? Or that their “suffering” through their sickness makes them somehow less worthy of life than me, deaf-girl with a solid (knock on wood) ever-set lack of illness?

People might look at my hearing and say: GOD that would suck! Not hearing is so isolating. Eternally asking people what they said makes me feel dumb (oh right…deaf and ____), I always miss the punch line, being tuned out, tapped about = no fun.

But does that make my life  less worthy? Do you really know? Have you been walking in my shoes?

No, no, and no. Of course not. So how can I look at health, oh glorious Health that way? Furthermore, how can I look at any of the health conditions that many people with Down syndrome have (heart, hearing, vision or intestinal issues, celiac disease, thyroid dysfunctions, skeletal problems, early-onset dementia and so forth) and think of it as “suffering”?

I’m not experiencing any of that “suffering”. I don’t know if it really is “suffering” for someone with ill-health. I Just. Don’t. Know. No answers here. Just a lot of questions. As usual. 

So I’m staying out of that pie. Speaking of pie, though – here’s a slice of Sweetness:

And speaking of slices,  random.org has said that Christina – who said “Seeing my kids sleeping peacefully makes me smile ”  will be receiving the cool little kit from the Organized Mommy (Giveaway) YAY, Christina!

Thanks for participating, everyone. Stay tuned for this week’s Giveaway.