Three years ago today, the day after Molly was born, the on-call pediatrician walked into my hospital room and told me that my daughter, not even twenty-four hours old, had “warning signs” of Down syndrome.

To say we were surprised was an understatement. I’m not even sure how to explain the emotions that came over me.  But, from that moment, my life took an entirely new path. Not necessarily the “right” or “wrong” path – just a turn that I wasn’t expecting or honestly, prepared to travel.

In the days that followed, we were bombarded with doctor’s appointments – cardiologists, geneticists, ENT specialists and her typical pediatrician. We had no prior knowledge of Molly’s diagnosis and didn’t know anything about Down syndrome. We were solely left to rely on Molly’s doctors to teach us in the beginning.

When doctors continually prepare you for the worst…  it’s hard to see the sunshine.  It was probably the darkest days (and months) of my life.

However…. after a few months the sunshine arrived and it’s never left us.

Molly’s birthday, June 23rd is a day of celebration, as is every day with her in our lives – tons of laughter and smiles…. and pride. I’m so incredibly proud of her and all of the milestones she’s accomplished in the past three years.

The little girl who wasn’t given much hope in the beginning has turned into a silly and beautiful little girl.

With such happiness each year on her birthday, June 24th is a very strange mix of emotions for me. Happiness that I have my precious Molly, but also a little bit of sadness as I relive June 24, 2010 over and over in my head each year.  It’s so strange to think about it all.  I can tell you every single detail of those doctor’s words and the minutes and days that followed.

It’s truly the day my life changed forever.

So, as another June 24th is now coming to an end, I do feel a bit of uneasiness.  However, I’m choosing to be happy and thankful for my precious daughter.  And her extra chromosome.