Pat Schuykill here.  Hope this finds you well and happy; we are doing well:  me, my husband, Al, and our daughter, Julie, who lives with us.  She is twenty-thre, and she has Down syndrome.

Julie is still having problems with people making mean comments about her; she sees the people staring at her or hears the mean comments; it is enough to break her spirit.  We feel bad for her because people just don't understand what it is like for her (or for us)!  When she isn't at work, she is unhappy; when she is at her job, she is altogether a different person:  her true sunny nature comes out.

This is the way we wish she could be all the time, but when people tease her, it makes us angry.  Why can't they learn to look past her "Down-syndromeness" and see her as a person with feelings, wants, and dreams?  She may not be as smart as many people, but she certainly isn't helpless; she can take care of herself (with adult supervision, of course)!

Right now, as I write this, Julie is at her job.  She won't get off until five this evening; we dnn't expect her home until six or so.  That is okay; that gives me time to do a load or two of laundry and go to the grocery store, as well as go out to lunch with Al.  We can actually act like typical people.

I hope and pray Julie has a good day at work; she needs those more than I'd like to admit!

Yesterday we went to church with Julie.  It was a beautiful service, and Julie cried when the choir sang her favorite song, "How Great Thou Art".  She has always had a tender heart, and ever since she gave her life to Christ, her heart has become even more so.  Al and I still haven't gone down to the altar when the pastor has the "altar call", but maybe we should.  We are beginning to see that we are missing out on something wonderful. 

Maybe if we had Christ in our lives, dealing with life would become so much easier, especially as far as Julie is concerned!

Yesterday, we were watching the news about the record flooding in Tennessee:  Nashville got hit particularly hard.  I am worried:  I have a sister, Rosetta, who lives there; I wonder if she even got to safety.  I haven't heard hide nor hair from her since last week, and I am becoming increasingly worried.  It's such a terrible situation there; I will have to pray for those poor people, even though I'm not really a Christian (yet)!

Well, I am going to go:  Al is ready to go.  When he is ready, he wants to go now, not yesterday.  We are looking forward to a nice lunch at Furr's; then I will come back and do my two loads of laundry and get some groceries (the basics) at the store before Julie gets home from work.  Until next time, take care; this is Patricia Schuykill signing off!

~Patricia.  :)