Every year March 21 is World Down Syndrome Day (WDSD), celebrated by people all over the world. The date (3/21) honors the three copies of the 21st chromosome that all people with Down syndrome (Ds) carry. WDSD exists to raise awareness of Ds and celebrate people the world over who are blessed with that extra chromosome. Our family loves a good party, and if the reason is to celebrate our girl, then all the better!
Yellow and Blue on World Down Syndrome Day
This year World Down Syndrome Day fell on a Monday. Therefore, we spent the day before WDSD at the NC Zoo with friends from the NC Down Syndrome Alliance at their “Paint the Zoo Yellow and Blue” event. Yellow and blue are the signature colors for Ds awareness. That sprinkling of yellow and blue made it easy to acknowledge others from the Ds community. So when a Ds mom or dad sees another Ds mom or dad they don’t need to say a word. The nod of the head and the smile of understanding say, “I see you. I know. We are in this together. YOU ARE NOT ALONE.”
The zoo was great fun (check out their website here: https://www.nczoo.org/). The weather that day was pretty perfect. As a result, we spent hours visiting the animals, playing on the playgrounds, and generally just enjoying the gorgeous day with our Ds community.
NC Down Syndrome Alliance on 03/19/22.
There were far more people at the zoo this year than there were last year! It was clear that pandemic restrictions are lifting and more people are getting out and back to their ways pre-pandemic. So many little ones were out enjoying the animals, which was heartwarming. It was also VERY CROWDED at some exhibits, so we took time to explore some of the less beaten and less crowded paths as well.
After lunch, families of loved ones with Down syndrome met at the butterfly exhibit to pose for a group picture. There were more of us there that day than this picture shows, but it gives a good idea of the showing we made in celebration of WDSD.
3…21…Go!
When I dropped Norah off at school the morning of 3/21 I was surprised and very touched to see that her classmates were wearing yellow and blue (courtesy of her teachers rallying the class/parents ahead of time), and her teachers were wearing t-shirts they had purchased in honor of WDSD. Fellow parents at Norah’s school reached out to my husband and me that day just to say how happy they are to know our daughter and grateful that their child gets to be Norah’s friend. It was a beautiful day and inspiring celebration of inclusion and acceptance of our daughter and of all people with Down syndrome.
We can’t wait to see all the ways people around us will celebrate diversity throughout the next year. To learn more about why celebrating differences is so important to us, go here: https://norahshope321.com/.