On the Ability of Down Syndrome

Has anyone else found themselves looking more intently at spring that is blooming around us this year? Each sunrise feels more brilliant than the last. Every tree seems to be bursting with more blossoms in brighter colors than I recall. Our moments in nature feel more like a sanctuary than ever during this quarantine.

In the spirit of the season, Happy Easter! This is an odd one for us all, but don’t you doubt that Leah will be dressing up for it (most likely as the Easter Bunny). Stay tuned for those pics. Leah goes all out for holidays and celebrations regardless of whether others are around to enjoy it or not (see below from the last holiday in quarantine). We hope that you find creative ways to Carpe Diem.

Leah and I are also in a season of new, though it is a season rooted in many years of thought and work. We began writing again. Why did we take this next step to dust off our notebooks? First off, Leah asked me to. I have always respected her as my partner in Upside Down, and we both needed some time the past two years. When she gave me the green light, I was also eager to get back to work.

Secondly, we have had the dream of co-writing a book since 2009. Enter: Upside Down. It wouldn’t be until April 20, 2013 when we would have our first official “book meeting” at Westport Coffeehouse in Kansas City. The story has been writing itself ever since. 

We have finally arrived at a place where we feel ready to compile our stories and turn this dream into a reality.

Today, I want to highlight a moment that stemmed from Leah and I picking back up our pens and getting back to work. Late January, Leah came to me with a new introduction that she had been working on for the book. 

I didn’t get past the title without being completely taken aback. It read:

“Our Family Who To Have A Daughter with the Ability of Down Syndrome”

By Lindsay Stodden and Leah Stodden [Struby]

The Ability of Down syndrome. 

In five words, Leah took an entire stereotype and turned it upside down. In her eyes, Down syndrome is not a disability. Nope, Leah doesn’t view it the way the rest of the world has labeled it. Down syndrome is her ability. It’s her superpower. It’s what makes her perfectly Leah.

I’ve always said that Leah’s greatest gift to me was encouraging me to give every single individual who I cross paths with the opportunity to surprise me. To enter into each relationship through a non-judgmental lens: meeting others and seeing them first as humans. I can’t tell you how much I’ve learned from people who I otherwise may not have been so welcoming to. 

This is Leah’s mindset with each and every situation she encounters. Her natural ability, her superpower, to do this fuels my desire to be better. To make more room in my heart for all types of individuals. To let others leave a piece of their story with me and me with them. 

With this perspective, Leah helps me to live out one of my favorite quotes: 

“Be not inhospitable to strangers, lest they be angels in disguise.”

Because of Leah’s new introduction, we finally have a subtitle for our book; Upside Down: Shifting Perspectives through the Ability of Down Syndrome. If you haven’t noticed, we’re big fans of the truths that are found in contrast. Upside down and right side up…the ability of disability.

Right now, as the recently barren trees are blooming with an abundance of life, this is undeniable.

Here’s to turning our minds Upside Down.