I love Wednesdays. Wednesdays have always been the day that Lewis and I tweaked out of my busy schedule to make a committed effort to spend good quality time together. I learned raising two kids that time goes by in a flash and we must cherish the time we have. Often we would struggle with what to do on our Wednesday outings. We generally looked for free or low cost stuff to do, just because budget required it. Now we are spending time volunteering at the animal shelter every Wednesday.
It is so wonderful to see the spark light up in Lew's eyes when Wednesdays come. He emerges from his room proudly sporting his T-shirt that says Volunteer on it. The anticipation that is apparent in his demeanor is so beautiful. He can't wait to get to the shelter to give of himself to cast away animals.
Down's people often do not have the part of our personalities that cast judgement. He is the most accepting and forgiving person I have ever met. He can work with animals that others may avoid because of the way they look. Often shelter cats, for example, come in with issues that have made them loose patches of hair or even have wounds. Many would avoid the animals with the worst issues, but not Lewis. He goes in every week and seeks out who seems to be in the worst shape. He spends time with those animals before he goes on to play with the cute kitties etc... If a kitty growls at him or another animal, he simply states, "this one is a little grumpy" and carries on. He knows the growl does not belong to him. Brilliant compared to the rest of us LOL. Just another example of how a Down's syndrome guy can teach the rest of us. So often I aspire to be more like him.
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