My wife sent me a link to this really cool story yesterday about  38 year old Michael Mullins (who happens to have been born with Down syndrome) a die hard Boston Red Sox fan who’s dream of singing the national anthem at Fenway Park finally came true!

Michael really hit a home run with his version of the national anthem (pun intended!) Click play on the video below to see for yourself.

Since March 21st is World Down Syndrome Day (children born with down syndrome have 3 copies of their 21st chromosome) we thought it would be fun to do a special extended edition of Real Truth. Real Quick. (A weekly video podcast where we answer questions about life, leadership, and the world we live in in 5 minutes or less.)  I hope you’ll take a few minutes to watch the interview with includes myself, my wife, our 3 year old son Noah, and our friend and pastor, Todd Wagner. (Oh, and our little boy in the womb, Jaxten!)

If I’ve learned anything from being parent these last few years it’s this; you never know when your child is going to achieve a major developmental milestone! Noah’s been working hard trying to learn to walk on his own. He’s been able to take a few steps on his own for a while now, and he recently learned to stand up on his own, but today, at 22 months old…out of the blue…did something ah-mah-zing….!

Today Noah became an official walker!

Kleenex alert! I recently came across this video of Rion Holcombe, a 20 year old with Down syndrome, receiving an acceptance letter to the Clemson University LIFE program. Hit play below to watch the video. (And you’ve been warned about the kleenex!)

Creativity and imagination are important skills to work on in childhood just like learning to crawl and communicate. A lot of people think that creativity is a gift, but I truly think creativity is something that can be practiced and developed. Imagination is also becoming more of a lost skill as kids are sitting in front of TVs that provide all the imagination they think that they need rather than creating the stories themselves.

Creativity Has No Limits

Today I wanted to help Noah explore his creative side. When I think of Noah’s future I hope that there are no limits for him, but I also sometimes worry about what his future holds. I figure that the arts are a way for him to express himself without limits whether it be painting, drama, music, cooking, taking pictures, etc.

There are several great programs and people we have already been exposed to that express themselves artistically while also happening to have Down syndrome.