Through Andy Bob's eyes

I wanted to tell people a little bit about my youngest, Andybob. He was the cutest baby with golden curls and chubby cheeks. He was always such a good baby too.
When I took him in for his 1st year check-up I asked the dr. why he wasn't sitting on his own yet. He looked at him a little closer, measured his head and frowned. Said he would make him an appointment on the hill at "Crippled Children's" (They were not pc in those days). My husband made sure he had court that day (he was a cop, so I took my mother-in-law for support. It was terrible. They took him away for 4 hours and brought him back crying. I had no idea what they did to him but a team of doctors took turns checking him out.
They put us in this room with a table and one dr. came in, took a deep breath and told us he was retarded. Goode thing the tqable was between me and the dr. or I might have chocked him! I cried and said he was too cute to be retarded. He explained that you don't have to be ugly to be retarded. My head was spinning. I thought I was going to throw up. My mother-in-law just held Andy tighter.
I'll write more later about our first days and years of Andy Bob but I thought I'd let you read the poem I wrote for him last year to let you know what a blessing he's been in our lives.
Through Andy Bob's Eyes
"Your baby's retarded", I heard the doctor say.
His lefe will be different in so many ways.
I kept thinking of all the things my son couldn't do.
How could God cheat him, I hadn't a clue.
But as Andy got older I got to see
What it's like to be joyful and truly stress free.
To see only good in people, to be generous and kind.
Looking forward to each day and be happy all the time.
Where Santa and the Easter Bunny are still so very real.
Where he never loses the excitement of the "Christmas morning" thrill.
To have no schedules or deadlines to meet.
No squabbles, tensions or quotas to beat.
Still wanting to be tucked in with hugs and kisses.
Dreaming of Harleys, Blockbuster & birthday wishes.
Where his biggest decision is Skittles or gum drops
Seeing everything how he sees it has taught me a lot.
God sent me and angel and I didn't realize
How the world looks so much better through Andy Bob's eyes.

Jan, July 31st, 2007