I’m joining in the 6th annual 31 for 21 Blog Challenge, hosted this year by Michelle at Big Blueberry Eyes. That means I
will be posting every day (yikes!) for the month of October (that’s the 31) in
honour of Down syndrome (or Trisomy 21, hence the 21), because . . .
1. I’ve never done one of these bloggy things before.
2. If I post, that also means that I get to read what all these other wonderful bloggers are writing and nudge some of the bloggers I read regularly to join; I also get to find out more about all these delightful and wondrous children/youth who happen to have Down syndrome, and the families and communities who love them.
3. I just came back from a 5-day canoe trip into the backwoods of Algonquin Park, tired, sore, smelly, and grinning from ear to ear because I survived, and I am hoping that this blog hop might provide a similar challenge, but for my writing (and without the odour, or the whitecaps).
4. Since I have been remiss in blogging, but was looking for a way to jump back in, this just seemed like too much of a gift to ignore. According to the Rule of Benedict—at least in Joan Chittister’s interpretation, which I am using as my daily lead in to meditation— “it is not perfection that leads us to God; it is perseverance.” And so, by persevering (blogging, writing), even when I have given up so many times (blogging, writing), I figure I am engaging in a practice that can only lead me closer to understanding (and honouring) what God has in mind for me.
5. My daughter Jessie, 22, has Down syndrome, and I cannot think of what my life would be like without her, and I so want to share the adventure. Where adventure (thank you Wikipedia) is defined as an exciting or unusual experience; it may also be a bold, usually risky undertaking, with an uncertain outcome. The term is often used to refer to activities with some potential for physical danger, such as skydiving, mountain climbing and or participating in extreme sports. The term also broadly refers to any enterprise that is potentially fraught with physical, financial, or psychological risk.
1. I’ve never done one of these bloggy things before.
2. If I post, that also means that I get to read what all these other wonderful bloggers are writing and nudge some of the bloggers I read regularly to join; I also get to find out more about all these delightful and wondrous children/youth who happen to have Down syndrome, and the families and communities who love them.
3. I just came back from a 5-day canoe trip into the backwoods of Algonquin Park, tired, sore, smelly, and grinning from ear to ear because I survived, and I am hoping that this blog hop might provide a similar challenge, but for my writing (and without the odour, or the whitecaps).
4. Since I have been remiss in blogging, but was looking for a way to jump back in, this just seemed like too much of a gift to ignore. According to the Rule of Benedict—at least in Joan Chittister’s interpretation, which I am using as my daily lead in to meditation— “it is not perfection that leads us to God; it is perseverance.” And so, by persevering (blogging, writing), even when I have given up so many times (blogging, writing), I figure I am engaging in a practice that can only lead me closer to understanding (and honouring) what God has in mind for me.
5. My daughter Jessie, 22, has Down syndrome, and I cannot think of what my life would be like without her, and I so want to share the adventure. Where adventure (thank you Wikipedia) is defined as an exciting or unusual experience; it may also be a bold, usually risky undertaking, with an uncertain outcome. The term is often used to refer to activities with some potential for physical danger, such as skydiving, mountain climbing and or participating in extreme sports. The term also broadly refers to any enterprise that is potentially fraught with physical, financial, or psychological risk.
YUP, that’s pretty much life with Jessie. And
that’s what I hope to explore, every day, in October.
