My favorite memory with Rory by far is when she and I would sit in office hours during school and chat for the whole hour. She would braid my hair and then I would braid hers. Everyday she never failed to tell me how pretty my hair was. We would laugh, watch tik toks, and talk about cheer.

Rory is genuinely the sweetest person I’ve ever met in my life. Without a doubt she makes everyone in the room not only feel included but loved unconditionally! She is more precious than anything this world has to offer and the brightest ray of sunshine.

My favorite memory with my best friend has got to be when she asked me to go to prom with her 2 years ago when I was 15 years old and she was 16 years old. I have known my best friend since I was a little kid and we have had many great times together, but this is my most favorite memory. It is my favorite memory because we spent the whole night dancing and having lots of fun! I was born to dance and so was she. This memory is one of my favorite memories because I love spending time with my best friend doing things that we both really enjoy.

I have taken care of Rory since she was born until she went into seven grade. When she came over to my house when her moms were at work we would dance to music, watch videos and do crafts. My daughter bought me a CD player, a DVD player and other electronics for us to play our favorite tunes. In my opinion there are way too many new electronics and gadgets in the world and I simply can’t keep track. As Rory got older I was amazed at how well she could navigate all the electronics. I remember whenever I was stumped on one of the remotes, or the cable channels, or anything else for that matter, Rory would jump up and say “grandma I got this”.

It was Rory’s freshmen year and she told us that she wanted to be a cheerleader. She was over the moon about it. But I was a wreck when I dropped her off on the first day of practice before tryouts. Not only did all the girls look so much older than she did, but she was the only girl with a disability. However, I felt so much relief when each day after practice she came home and said how fun it was and how many friends she made! On the last day of practice she came to the car and said “tryouts are tomorrow, I am so excited to be a cheerleader!”

Sending a child to a high school with 4500+ people can make any mother feel nervous. Sending my daughter with Down syndrome to a high school with 4500+ kids was like my nerves were on steroids. But the thing about my daughter Rory is that she is fearless and she will try anything at least once. Rory was set up to attend 50% of her classes in a general education setting and 50% in a special education setting and she would be navigating her campus without the help of an aid. At first, the school told us she wouldn’t be able to do it. So you know what we did?

“The most important thing I do everyday is I take care of my dogs and cats. I keep on my schedule of things to do for school and myself. I watch my calendar on my phone so I do not miss any of my things that I need to do.”