Greg Awtry

We all have heard of Sweet Sixteen. We usually hear it in March during the NCAA Men’s National Championship tournament. Or was it Neil Sedaka’s 1983 hit, Sweet Sixteen or maybe the Crests’ famous song, Sixteen Candles.

Or on a personal note, this is the sixteenth newspaper column I have written in the month of March for sixteen years straight, and with apologies to The Crests, I titled it Sixteen Candles.

By now you either don’t care, or if you are frequent reader of my ramblings, you probably already know it’s about granddaughter Maddox. Although she was born in January sixteen years ago in Alpena, Michigan, on a cold wintery day which I remember like it was yesterday, it was that night we found out Baby Maddie, as I called her then, was born with Down syndrome.

Instead of two number 21 chromosomes, she had three, which translates nicely to 3-21, or March 21st. It’s the day we celebrate those with World Down Syndrome Day by giving them the recognition they so desperately want, but more importantly, the recognition they deserve.

You see, their life is full of milestones, most of which we never give a second thought to, like walking or talking, or learning how to read or write. It’s not easy for them, yet Maddox takes it all in stride, knowing life isn’t a race. It’s a journey.

Maddox’s journey began the night she was born, when they found two small holes in her heart. She struggled to hang on. She did. Check that box. The next hurdle was to convince her parents she needed them. That box was checked as she lay on her mother’s chest, looked directly into her mother’s eyes with an unexplainable yearning for love.

She showed early on she had a quest for learning, beginning with simple sign language, then recognition of shapes, and finally the alphabet. After years of speech and physical therapy, it was clear. She was well on her way.

Success after success followed, maybe not on what we would call a normal timeline, but on her’s. And now, sixteen years later, Maddox is a full-blown teenager, complete with boy crushes, dances, a little make-up, lots of music, sports and school activities.

There are so many people to thank for making her journey into a dream. The teachers with patience, her understanding friends, her therapists,and doctors, and mostly her parents and two brothers. I have had front row seat for every triumph and tragedy along the way. I have also had the honor of learning more from Maddox than I could ever teach her.

She doesn’t judge people on politics, race, gender, wealth, or religion. She sees the good in everybody and the beauty in everything. She feels our pain much more than her own, and you remember that heart, with the two tiny holes? It has blossomed into a heart much bigger than she can handle, so she gives a piece of it to everyone.

So on Saturday, March 21st, World Down Syndrome Day, I ask that you join us in the recognition by wearing a pair of crazy or mismatched socks. Why? They look exactly like the 21st chromosomes. Take a picture and share it on my Facebook page or send it to me in an email. Or you can check out Maddox’s Miracles FaceBook Page. You will light up her life just as her sixteen candles have done for all of us.

Join us won’t you? Gregawtry@awtry.com