On…wards and Upwards and Upside Down

After a brief 2+ year hiatus, the dynamic duo that is Upside Down (Leah and Lindsay) are thrilled to announce that we have dusted off our notebooks and are writing again!

What better day than World Inclusion Day (in a world where divisiveness too often wins) to re-launch and shift perspectives? We’re here for it.

This past weekend, our talented cousin Jake (@jyphotography) spent a full day with us, capturing moments we can’t wait to share. In the mean time, a huge shoutout to @gloriabakerfeinstein for the beautiful photos she snapped in a session with us in 2018 (Header + About Me sections).

Beginning next week, we will post every Tuesday and Friday on Upside Down. Additionally, if you know anyone with ties to the Down syndrome/Special Needs world, I encourage you to set up an introduction with us! We have a big vision for Upside Down and are thrilled to build community, connecting with all types of beautiful people along the way.

For the next 3 weeks, we will be posting The Forever Love Series: The Story of Mark and Leah. Their 30+ year unique love story aligns with the mission of Upside Down: to shift perspectives. Get ready for laughs, tears, and all of the feels.

Now, let’s bring things up to speed.

Per the last several posts written in February 2018, Leah was living in her own apartment. She has since moved back into our parent’s house: complete with her own kitchen, private living “hang out” room, bedroom, bathroom, and piano.

The human response to this update might live in the vein of failure, but as mentioned, Upside Down shifts perspectives. Failures become lessons. Leah’s ability to do this is one of her greatest gifts to this world (rivaling her piano playing, when she laughs until she makes that honking noise that brings an entire room to belly laughs, her authentic purity, etc., etc.).  

As with everything in life, Leah’s apartment was a learning experience; and learn…she did. We are thankful for the opportunity she had. It breathed life to a dream that she had held for over 15 years.

That’s about enough from me, though. It’s time to let Leah do her thing. We are so excited to share more of our stories with you this year! The best is yet to come.

*As a reminder, Leah’s writings are italicized in all posts.

When I had lived at my own apartment, My Mom and My Dad had come over and they ask me to go with them to Dairy Queen to talk about things that they both was thinking and I was also thinking too after what had happened with our dog Libby.

Libby had a really hard thing that she had gone through. It was when she had started to get sick and she started to have seizures. I don’t want people to be scared about that but my dog had started to have them. She couldn’t be able to eat or walk or stand. And then we heard and find out that the sick that she had was epilepsy.

Libby was starting to not make it through and starting to die and my mom had to make the big decision to take her into the hospital or to bring her back home. She take Libby for a ride around in the car to make the decision and in that time I text my mom that I’m not ready and Libby was not ready. Right after she read the text message Libby snap out of it and she look straight right to my mom in her eyes in the car and was not out of it anymore.

They took her home to spend the night at home and my mom said I help her out by talk to her about to have Libby as long as we can. She tell me thank you to help making the right decision to save her life.

We then have to give her medicine for epilepsy. My mom and my dad not want me and Libby to be separate and apart and it was hard to bring her over to my apartment to be with me. And we are best friends and best buddies together. I want to say we love to hang out together and when I have dinner she sits by my side and we relax together and I love to take care of her.

That’s when My Mom and My Dad take me to have a special treat at Dairy Queen and we all talk together that they are thinking what I was also thinking too was for me to be with Libby at home and to go back and live at home.

There was also some other things with the apartment that was not the right fit for me. I did good on my own but some things feel kind of different for me.

To share the laundry schedule with the people who live there sometimes was a hard thing. And also when I have to have a small lunch to be hungry for the dinner when it starts at 5:00 P.M. and we set it up at 4:00 P.M. I was not quite hungry for to have the early dinner.

They also have events and meetings. I like to do some of the events and I also want to do things on my own too. At night, I want to go to the Common Area but it was closed. I like to stay up at night and other people go to bed early at night. It is a fit for some people who still live there and love to live there.

I had move back on the week of my birthday week in July 2018. I had meet a lot of people and make a lot of friends when I live there. My friends were going to put a goodbye party for me, but they do a goodbye and also a birthday party for me. I had bring treats and we had pizza. We also sing karaoke together and play pool. It will always be a special place to me in my heart.

Sometimes things can change plans and when that happens you can say Oh, Okay. And your family can help you with it too. And you can put it in your heart and think of it and it makes you smile when you think about it.

And now, I am feel very happy to be at home with my best buddy Libby and My Mom and My Dad.

I also am very excited to write about my Forever Love story during the month of March and to start back up with the Upside Down blog again with my sister Lindsay and I thank you that you read it. I hope it makes you to feel happy when you read it. Love, Leah.

Here’s to turning our minds Upside Down.