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Ayelén was born when Emir was close to his 3rd birthday. Before getting pregnant for the 2nd time, my husband and I talked about our fears and how we would face the possibility of having a second child with Down syndrome. After a long discussion, we decided to make a pledge of love, and welcome her with no regrets with or without the extra chromosome. So we decided to call her “Ayelén”; that means Joy in Hebrew. No tests were done.

I prayed to God, “Please, send me a girl, the most wonderful and beautiful girl to my family and me and the perfect sister for Emir…” I was unable to ask him to leave out the extra chromosome. How could I, after having Emir in my life?

Her almond-shaped eyes surprised me the day she was born, but I already knew what to expect: the perfect daughter and sister that I asked for. Since the day she was born 7 years ago, she keeps surprising me with her strong will and determination to grow up and achieve every single goal. She ended up with all my prejudices. I guess that if she were never born, I would never have known that children with Down syndrome are not angels.

Throughout the years, she’s taught me that there is not recipe for being a parent, and sometimes, straight or reverse psychology doesn’t always work. I’ve learned that sometimes children come to our lives to cuff our moral arrogance, by demonstrating us that no matter how much we plan, or how well-prepared we feel we are, our whole lives may be not enough to learn to be the parents we want to be. There are no perfect parents, and no perfect children; however we are the perfect parents for her as she’s the perfect daughter to us.

Many people say that perfection doesn’t exist, but what many people don’t know is that perfection is perfect in its imperfections, on tough days, and with each of its challenges. Perfection is the feeling of waking up one day to realize that we have all that we need to keep on going, and that nothing else matters.

Eliana Tardío
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About Eliana Tardío

Eliana Tardío es la mamá de Emir y Ayelén; ambos con síndrome de Down. Reconocida por su trabajo promoviendo la inclusión natural de las personas por su individualidad, Eliana ha sida reconocida por celebridades como Araceli Arámbula, Thalia, María Celeste Arrarás, Karen Martínez, y más. Su historia ha sido compartida por las cadenas mundiales más importantes: Univisión, Telemundo, CNN, y Azteca América. Nombrada Bloguera Latina Inspiración 2014 en USA, en este espacio Eliana comparte sus vivencias y recursos con más de 200.000 visitantes al mes.

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