buddy walk 2010

the buddy walk is an event, held every october, to raise down syndrome awareness.
october is officially down syndrome awareness month.
did you know that?
around here we call it ben's day and ben's month, respectively.
(i think all boys with cutie tushys should have their own month!) :)

the huntsville area buddy walk consists of a small walk and BIG celebration, complete with
special appearances,


games and prizes,




face painting and makeup artists,



balloon animal-making clowns,


a huge chinese auction,




yummy good food,



and lot and lots of good-hearted people.

the kids think it's better than Christmas!
and they are so excited every year to celebrate their brother.

there are tons of people behind the scenes that spend countless hours planning and working to pull something so large like this off.
but they rock it.
they totally rock it.
and every year it just gets better and better!

i am especially grateful to two of the ladies--susan and jenny.
when ben was born, a neighbor of mine told me about an organization called B.U.D.S. (Bringing Up Down Syndrome) here in town.
i contacted them (one tearful night and probably with a very cryptic email) and these two wonderful women came to my home and lavished me with gifts!
they brought us a huge tote bag filled with all the down syndrome resources i would ever need, some videos, books, pamphlets, stickers, tee shirts, car decals...you name it, we got it!
more importantly though, they also lavished me with support.
they told me about their special children and asked me how i was doing.
they really wanted to know.
and the funny thing is they understood exactly what i said, what i felt, what i was hiding.
because they had been there too.
how awesome are they?

i digress.
sorry!
ok, back to the buddy walk.
this year my parents were able to attend and it was great.
i loved having them there.
and it was so great to see the community come together to support our wonderful children.



everyone was smiling all day.
and it made me feel so very happy.
acceptance, smile, love, FUN--those were the words of the day!

if you ever get the chance to attend a buddy walk, do it.
trust me on this one, ok?
even if you don't know anyone with down syndrome, you will walk away filled with a renewed sense of hope in this world.
and you will get a chance to see, firsthand, how people of all shapes, sizes, colors, and abilities make our world so special.