![](https://peoplecanpersevere.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/chromosome-2.jpg)
It is World Downs Syndrome Day and I couldn’t not write today! My favorite person with Downs Syndrome is my sister! Anyone who has read the blog so far has started to hear the story of my sister. I was her younger sister so I didn’t know the world any different without Annie in it. She was my older sister and that was how life was. She has a personality as large as it gets and she has an opinion that she will let you know exactly what she is thinking. She is a lot of fun to be around and she was a great sister to grow up with.
Growing up with Annie was always an adventure and it led me to have to navigate a world that I didn’t realize I was navigating through. I had to be bigger for her. I had to make sure she got what she needed when she needed it. I was twelve and we participated in Special Olympics together. I was the volunteer that walked her from event to event. I made sure she was taken care of, that she drank her water, that we found all the events, and that we found my mother when it was time to take her medications. It was all a part of growing up and I am grateful for it. It made me have a completely different outlook on life. One that was bigger then myself.
Annie showed me the world through her eyes. I saw her work hard for everything she got. She was determined to do everything all her siblings were doing. She didn’t let her handicap slow her down. She had two congenital hips when she was born and my mother was told she probably wouldn’t walk but she walked. My mother pushed her and she in turn didn’t let life slow her down all growing up. It was amazing to watch her grow and learn throughout our childhood.
One of my favorite stories of Natalie happened on her birthday. My husband and I were poor college students and we picked her up to take her to dinner and a movie. After we picked her up we told her we would take her to wherever she wanted to eat dinner (thinking she would pick Chilies, or a fast food restaurant) . Without skipping a beat she said Red Lobster. WHAT!?! We were poor college students we couldn’t afford red lobster. My husband talked her into wingers and we got there and she wanted the largest plate of wings on the menu. I think the wings were just as expensive as Red Lobster would have been! It was a great night but we learned to give her select options after that! 🙂
Anyway, I love her so much and am grateful that I grew up with her! Happy World Downs Syndrome Day, the world is a better place with you in it!
-Rachel