Walk in my shoes.

You know those sayings about 'walking in others shoes?'

' Don't judge unless you can walk a mile in mine?'

Or the sayings about 'don't get angry at the guy who just sped up in front of you, he is racing home to see his dying wife'...'.Don't be angry at the grocery checker as she hands you the incorrect change, her mind is full of fear, she has no idea  how she will pay this months rent.'

I love those little sentences. 
They hold within them great, powerful meaning.

We all need to be reminded, daily.

Don't we?

Yep, we do.
Kinda like don't sweat the small stuff.
 Or, our problems are small compared to someone else's.

Perspective.

I think that's what the words do for me.

They bring me to a simple place of perspective.

 My shoes led me to a place today that I have been before.

I have been given the honor by some as one of the first person's to call.
I never asked to be 'her'.
Never knew how to be 'her'.

Guess I still don't.
It didn't come with a manual.
I'm just a mom walking the walk.

Doing the very best I know how.
 Mistakes along the way?
YOU BET.


A mentor if you will.
A kind voice, a listening heart.
A mom that clearly has walked in the similar Down Syndrome world's shoes.

Funny how much I love shoes.
They all do the same thing,
protect our feet.

But there are millions of styles, millions of heights, patterns, materials.
Yet they still all serve the same purpose.
They help you in your path.

They help you to walk forward.
Small steps, big leaps.
Sometimes they are built for comfort, other times they absolutely hurt like hell.
They may help us stand taller,
We may use them for walking distances or to run.
We may just need them for fashion or to keep us warm.
We all have shoes.
They are all different.
They take us all to so many different places.

These boots were made for walking...If our shoes could talk...Just walk a mile, "seriously just walk a block in mine!!!"

We all have our own path.
We may walk in different directions.
Sometimes together, sometimes alone.
Sometimes you have no Godly idea where the frick you are going or how to get there.
But some how you just do.
You get there.

I have a new friend. I met her through the crazy web of Face Book. Friend of a friend, cousin to a friend..yada yada..

Today I was able to walk into the hospital room where this amazing mom and her new miracle lay healing from fresh heart surgery.

Beautiful life.

Nine years ago we were in the room right across the hall.

Natie- If I only knew THEN...

The memories came flooding back, I guess they never really go away. They fade in time. But can be resurrected with a single scent.

I came upon a beautiful, and I mean beautiful baby laying in her crib.
I was speechless.
I saw Natie.
I touched softly the new frail mom.
She was me.

How can I tell her it will all be OK?
How can I assure her that this is meant to be?
How am I going to tell her that although her path has changed it just might be a better road than before?

I was so overwhelmed.  I felt the mom's heavy heart. I looked deeply into her tired eyes.
Holly,
straighten up. Jeez, you are here to help her.
You cannot cry.
But I had too.

 I cried as I listened to the Doctors fill her up with so much information that she could hardly breath.

I felt her pain, her fears and I wanted to sign on the dotted line that life will be good.

Hell, life will be  great.

There will be so many new shoes in her doorway at home.
She will need sturdy ones, for she is now a warrior.

She must navigate the special needs world.
She will wear shoes of great comfort as she waits for moments to go by that are difficult to bear.
She will wear shoes till the soles are worn and the support is gone.  New shoes will be given.  Offered, donated and made.

But this mommy's most important pair will be a kick ass pair of Stiletto's.

She definitely will wear these soon as she CELEBRATES her gift.

This little girl that I met today has changed my life.

It was merely 9 years ago that I was sitting in that chair.
Nine years of different roads,
new paths,

scary journeys,
unbelievable joys,
moments that soar to the heavens,
and depth that cannot be found in poetry.

It impossible for me to tell this mom. 

There are no words.

But since I walkroom into the room in my stilleto's, I think she just knew.

I wear mine proudly as my journey has brought me to her.

Yep my feet are killing me, But the road is worth walking.

So in time, I will offer up my kick ass heels to a deserving new rock star.

You may never walk in my shoes.
Or know the road I have taken.

But from today on you will never forget,
our special children are here to remind us all.

It just doesn't matter how I get there.

It doesn't matter what I wear.

My path is my own.

You walk yours and I will walk mine. And if I can be so blessed we will hold hands and walk together.
I promise to clear the path and make the journey an easier one.

I love shoes.

I am so friggen excited to have gotten a new pair.