He did it, again ❤️

He is home, safe; again. I can’t help to think about when this ‘walking home alone ‘ thing started. It began with me willing to let go. All parents need to let go at some point. It is another dark winter night and he got home walking from his Tae Kwon Do class to our home by himself. Lots of things can happen in that block and a a half; but there comes a time when we have to let go. It takes a village sometimes. The master probably stopped him from showing off his laptop a few times while he is walking home. It takes a village; must accept it. I will not be on this earth 🌎 forever. He did it again ❤️

Why is Juan Luis Guerra's team here?

No way around it, Juan Luis Guerra is Cameron's musical idol. (He is the #1 Dominican Merengue and Bachata man)
We've got his music in the car and Cameron plays it every time that we go anywhere. This morning I was driving him to play a baseball game. We took a different road because we were going to a park where he had never played. We passed in front of a synagogue where several Hasidic Jews were gathering. We stopped at the light and suddenly Cameron asked me:
:

Mom: Why is Juan Luis Guerra's team gathering here?

PS: Needless to say, that moment turned into a religion and everything else lesson, etc.

El equipo de Juan Luis Guerra

No hay vuelta que darle, Juan Luis Guerra es el ídolo musical de Cameron. Tenemos su música en el auto y le pone "play" cada vez que vamos a donde sea. Hoy a la mañana lo estaba llevado a jugar un partido de béisbol. Tomamos un camino nuevo porque íbamos a un parque donde nunca había jugado. Pasamos en frente de una sinagoga donde había varios judios jasídicos congregados. Paramos en el semáforo y Cameron de repente me pregunta:

"Mamá: ¿qué hace acá el equipo de Juan Luis Guerra?

PD: Se convirtió en una lección de religiones, etc... :)

"Damaged?" Time for meditation and hopefully, change.

More research on past quotes from the Dalai Lama on abortion of "retarded" children

Source:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/buddhism/buddhistethics/abortion.shtml

Of course, abortion, from a Buddhist viewpoint, is an act of killing and is negative, generally speaking. But it depends on the circumstances.
If the unborn child will be retarded or if the birth will create serious problems for the parent, these are cases where there can be an exception. I think abortion should be approved or disapproved according to each circumstance.

Dalai Lama, New York Times, 28/11/1993

http://www.nytimes.com/1993/11/28/magazine/the-dalai-lama.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm

Cameron did not say this, I do

In his own words: “Where ignorance is our master, there is no possibility of real peace.”

- Dalai Lama XIV

By Viviana Fernandez

Awareness, compassion, love and non-violence, those are some of the pillars of Tibetan Buddhism. His Holiness, the Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism, said yesterday during his 2013 visit to the United States, and  first public talk about how secular ethics could unite everyone on earth: “abortion is admissible if it will bring much suffering to the family”.

He said this after explaining that “abortion is killing”. The Dalai Lama was answering a question by Paul Root Wolpe, PhD, Director of the Emory University’s Center for Ethics during his first public talk at the Arena, in Gwinnett Center, Duluth, GA.

Doctor Wolpe presented a dilemma to his Holiness: what is there ethically to do if a child presents 100% damage?

The Dalai Lama turned to his interpreter and explained his view on abortion in such a case.

My sister, who had given me the surprise of buying a ticket for the Dalai Lama’s public talk immediately, saw my reaction. I stopped applauding. I was flabbergasted. How could these two influential figures talking about secular ethics, first of all, refer to a child, a unique soul as “100% damaged”? I guess Dr. Wolpe was referring to a severely disabled child? The Director of Emory University’s Center for Ethics was referring to a unique soul, somebody’s son or daughter, a fellow brother or sister mammal-human being as “100% damaged”.

How is “100% damage” determined? What is a 100% damaged child? How would Helen Keller answer that question? How would my 12 year old son with Down syndrome answer that question?

I can feel compassion for Dr Wolpe and the Dalai Lama’s answer. You see, before I had my son Cameron, I was also afraid of such “suffering”.  However, Cameron’s soul was stronger. He needed to be here and Down syndrome went undetected during my pregnancy in spite of getting the recommended blood tests. No amnio was done because I was not 35 years old.

Any birth or Samsara brings pain. But Cameron’s birth brought the most important Samsara in my life. He taught me how to truly love a soul unconditionally, just as he is. His birth brought me the greatest gifts taught by Tibetan Buddhism: Awareness, Compassion, and Love. In my dealing with suffering after given the news, I found the greatest treasure and gift that any human could get while on this earth. If I had found out while I was pregnant that Cameron had Down syndrome, at that stage of my life, I would have probably gone for “avoiding the suffering”.  However, it was in my acceptance of my stereotypical view and stigma associated with “damaged children” that I found the greatest love of all.

So it took a while for me to gain spiritual composure but I stayed in the arena until the very end. After all, we concluded with my sister, the Dalai Lama and Doctor Wolpe are only human. Their own experiences limit their thinking. Hopefully, they will read about my experience with Cameron. It would be significant, especially because October is National Down Syndrome Awareness Month. Almost 100% of pregnancies where Down syndrome is detected prenatally end up being terminated.

It is inevitable not to go through suffering in life. Suffering will come in many forms and shapes. I hope that before we can implement secular ethics in education we can truly grasp the sound of Grammy-nominated Tibetan flutist Nawang Khechog and his flute chant before the panel begun:

“May all be kind to each other for as long as space endures, for as long as sentient beings endure, may we care for all living beings.”

Link to another interview:
http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-1039047

 

Fighting the Mongers again! Sumarizer to the rescue!

In the past few days, I have turned into the Pink Power Ranger! Samurai, Forever! Go! Go! Power Rangers!
Cameron in transitioning to Middle School and the School system wants to send him to a self contained class. For parents of children who do not have disabilities, let me explain that it means being in a class with children who all have disabilities. Nothing wrong with that.
However, in Cameron's case, they (the administrators and teachers) recommnended this in spite of Cameron making progress in a regular ed classroom and being pulled out for resource.
"Oooh! I am afraid for what might happen in Middle School", said his public school Speech Therapist. She started to cry.
I said: "That is the real world and he will have to learn how to deal with it when I am not here"
The law in the United States says that children with disabilities have to be placed within the least restrictive environment possible in the classrooms. If the kid makes progress in the least restrictive environment, then he or she should continue in that placement. However, the "monghers" and the budget cuts seem to believe that what is easier and cheaper for the Department of Education should be what rules.
Samurai Forever! GO GO!

This morning, the first day of school in the county where we live Cameron was not able to attend his home school in the least restrictive environment possible. We filed for due process.
The fist thing that he said this morning when he woke up was: mom, I want to listen to that Spanish song. "El Soldado".
I looked for it in You Tube and that was another confirmation for us to know that we are doing the right thing.
If only Juan Luis Guerra would know how much this song has meant to Cameron and to us....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tub3SuaQtG8

Mamá! viene Jesús!

Fuí bautizada en la Iglesia Católica aunque nunca entendí de que se trataba el bautismo.
Por lo tanto, he estado exponiendo a Cameron a diferentes religiones. Quiero que el elija a cual religión quiere pertenecer si es que hay alguna que le interesa. Me encantaría que el tenga una vida espiritual porque considero que es muy importante para sobrevivir en este mundo. Varias veces ha expresado que quiere ser bautizado en la Iglesia Cristiana Protestante. Siempre resptaré sus deseos.
Hoy, me hizo sonreir. Ibamos conduciendo por la carretera 124 en Snellville, GA y de repente me dice:

Mamá, !viene Jesús!

Pensé en ese momento : ¿de qué me está hablando?

Mira mamá, !viene Jesús! 

Cameron said...Cameron dijo...: Mom, Jesus is coming!

Cameron said...Cameron dijo...: Mom, Jesus is coming!: I was baptized under the Catholic Church without me really understanding what baptism was really about. So I have been exposing Cameron to d...

Mom, Jesus is coming!

I was baptized under the Catholic Church without me really understanding what baptism was really about. So I have been exposing Cameron to different beliefs. I want him to choose what religion he wants to belong to if any.
I would love for him to have a very spiritual life because I consider that to be extremely important to survive in this world. He  has expressed a few times that he would like to be baptized under the Christian Protestant Church. I will always respect his wishes.
Today, though, he made me smile after a couple of days of not smiling very much.
We were driving on Highway 124 in Snellville, GA and all of the sudden he says:

Mom!!!! Jesus is coming!!!!!

I thought, what in the world?

Look, mom! Jesus is coming!!!

¿Cómo hago para llegar hasta allí?

Unos días antes de Navidad murió nuestra adorada perra. Ésta es la primera vez que muere un ser querido de Cameron. Desde que murió Sonar está intentando comprender el concepto de la muerte.

Antes de Navidad me preguntó: mamá, ¿crees que Santa traerá a Sonar para Navidad?
Le expliqué una vez más que cuando uno muere, físicamente ya no puede volver.

Sin embargo, le señalé: el alma de Sonar siempre estará con nosotros y con Dios.

Cameron: ¿y dónde está Dios?
Yo: Dios es amor y Dios está en todas partes.

Cameron se quedó pensando y después de un rato preguntó:
¿Dios está en Atlanta? (la ciudad donde vivimos)

Yo: Sí, Dios está en Atlanta y en todas partes. Dios está en el cielo, en el paraíso.
Cameron se queda pensando una vez más y pregunta:

                        ¿Cómo hago para llegar hasta allí?

 

Cameron's first love......

Cameron does not want me to kiss him in public anymore. What you see above is his first written declaration of love for his classmate Kirsten. Throughout several weeks he was acting like a radar by following every one of her moves. Every day he would come home with a full report.

"Mom, Kirsten said hi during recess. Mom, Kirsten did not look at me today. Mom, I will marry Kirsten."

It warmed my heart to think that he was falling for a girl for the first time. However, I had mixed feelings about how he and typical girls would react to his falling in love with them. He is now 11 years old and thus far he has never felt "different". Kirsten is a typical girl. 

 

How could I explain that not all the girls will be interested in him? Harder yet, how would I explain that the majority of typical girls will not be interested in him? They will "love" him according to what is "accepted" and the "norm" but not "love" him as in falling in love with him and as he would like to be loved by them.

How can I spare him of the pain of rejection and even more so of being rejected by typical girls because he has Down Syndrome? 

Well, the best way that I could find to explain it to him is very simple. I told him that regardless if someone has Down Syndrome or not finding a lover for life is not easy. However, I assured him that God someone special waiting for him. 

As a mother of a child with Down Syndrome, I know that I will have a key role in including him as much as possible in as many groups as possible where he will have the opportunity to interact with peers. I will have a key role in giving him opportunities to build friendships and perhaps even in him finding his soulmate.

The first step is to open the doors of possibilities for him because opposite of what I thought when he was a newborn- falling in love, true love, can happen amongst people with intellectual disabilities.

Is is not the same way for the general "typical" population?

 

 

El primer amor de Cameron - Spanish

Cameron ya ni quiere que le de besos, sobre todo en público. Ésta fué la declaración de amor escrita a Kirsten, su adorada compañera de clase. Durante varias semanas se la pasó como un radar captando todo sobre Kirsten y al regresar de la escuela me daba el reporte. 

 

Má: Kirsten me saludó en el recreo, má, Kirsten no me miró hoy, má, me voy a casar con Kirsten. Y luego, me mostró esta declaración escrita. Me dió tanta ternura pensar como estaba cayendo por una chica por primera vez. Sin embargo, me revolvió sentimientos encontrados acerca de como reaccionará el y las chicas sin discapacidad a sus enamoramientos. Hasta los once años que tiene nunca se ha sentido ¨diferente¨. Kirsten no tiene discapacidad

 

¿Cómo explicarle que no todas las chicas estarán interesadas en el y más difícil aún,  que muchas-la mayoría de las chicas sin discapacidad no estarán interesadas en el?

Lo querrán pero según las ¨normas¨ de la sociedad, no como el quisiera que lo quieran.

¿Cómo evitarle el dolor del rechazo y más dificil de digerir aun, del rechazo porque tiene síndrome de Down?

Pues la mejor manera de explicarle a el ha sido en términos simples y diciéndole que síndrome de Down o no síndrome de Down, encontrar una pareja que sea para siempre no es tarea fácil. Sin embargo,  le aseguré que Dios tiene a alguien muy especial para el. 

 

 Como madre de un chico con síndrome de Down entiendo que tendré un papel importante en integrarlo a grupos donde pueda forjar amistades y quizás hasta también más adelante, encontrar a su media naraja. El primer paso es abrir las puertas de las posibilidades porque contrario a lo que pensaba yo cuando Cameron era recien nacido, el amor de verdad entre personas con discapacidad intelectual sí es posible.

¿ No es así también entre la población en general?

Cameron said....Cameron dijo... 2nd post

English version
I do not like generalizations. Many people say: children with Down Syndrome are all angels, or they are always happy. Sorry, but I believe they are just like everyone else (you haven't seen Cameron when it is time to go to bed). However, I do have the theory that people with Down Syndrome develop a seventh sense of extreme spiritual sensitivity. I believe that since they take longer to communicate or sometimes can never get to communicate verbally they compensate by developing extremely effective ways to increase their spiritual connections and to read people's vibrations. What do you think?
Cameron's grandfather died more than one year before he was  born. We were driving to speech therapy and out of the blue he asked the following question:

-Cameron:  Mom, why did your dad die?

-Me:  He was very sick Cameron.

-Cameron:  Why?

-Me: He had cancer. It was very advanced and he could not be cured.

-Cameron: Is he in heaven?

-Me: Yes, he is in heaven.

-Cameron: Where? I want to see him.

-Me: It is..  everywhere where you see the hand of God.

-Cameron: He talks to you.

-Me: Are you asking me if my father talks to me?

-Cameron:  No, he talks to you.
============================================================
Spanish
No me gusta generalizar. Mucha gente dice que los niños con síndrome de Down son ángeles o que siempre estan felices. Lo siento pero yo creo que son como todos los demás.  (No han visto a Cameron cuando no quiere ir a la cama).
Sin embargo, tengo la teoría que las personas con síndrome de Down desarrollan un séptimo sentido de sensibilidad espiritual extrema. Creo que porque tardan más en poder comunicarse o a veces no llegan a poder comunicarse verbalmente, compensan con la habilidad de desarrollar vías extremadamente efectivas de aumentar sus conexiones espirituales y sentir la vibra de las personas. ¿Ustedes que piensan?
El abuelo de Cameron murió más de un año antes que el naciera. Estábamos yendo a terapia de lenguaje y de repente me hizo la siguiente pregunta

Cameron: Má, ¿por qué murió tu papá?

Yo:  Porque estaba muy enfermo Cameron.

Cameron: ¿Por qué?

Yo: Porque tenía cancer. Estaba muy avanzado y no lo podian curar.

Cameron: ¿Está en el cielo?
Yo: Sí, está en el cielo.


Cameron: ¿Donde? lo quiero ver.

Yo: Está... allí arriba y donde veas la mano de Dios.

Cameron: El te habla.

Yo: ¿Me estás preguntando si mi papá me habla?

Cameron: No. El te habla.

Cameron dijo...

Cameron: Má, ¿por qué está ahí esa señora?
Mom:       Está pidiendo dinero. Está mendigando. No tiene donde vivir.

(Silencio)

Cameron: ¡Puede venir a nuestra casa!

Mom:  Lo siento Cameron, no puede venir con nosotros.

Cameron: ¿Por qué?  ¡Puede vivir con nosotros!. 

Mom: No, cariño. No sabemos si está bien mentalmente o si su salud está bien. 
Cameron:  La podemos llevar a un doctor. ¡Vamos mamá!

 

Cameron said...

Cameron:  Ma, why is that lady there?
Mom:       She is asking for money Cameron. She is panhandling.She doesn't have anywhere to live.

(Silence) 

Cameron: She can come to our house!  

Mom: No sorry, Cam we cannot bring her to our house. 

Cameron: Why!!!!? She can live with us!  

Mom: No, babe. We do not know if she is ok mentally or her health is ok.
Cameron: We can take her to the doctor. C'mon mom!