by Michelle N. Broughton

Created on: October 08, 2009

A Role Model to Envy

Jaimie, my daughter, is my role model. Born with Downs syndrome, she is the closest to personal perfection of anyone I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. Within her heart lies love, empathy, joy and unending happiness such as I never knew before she became a part of my world.

Bias and hatred are foreign ideas in her world. She sees no color, creed or religion. Instead, she sees people who need whatever help she can offer. In a telephone conversation with my sister tonight she recounted her most cherished experience with Jaimie.

My sister's husband has a mental illness that can become dangerous to himself or others if he forgets or ignores his medications. That was the case in 2006 and he came very close to killing my sister. She ended up leaving her home and coming to live with us. Of all the things my husband and I tried to do to help, she said though she appreciated them, nothing gave her greater comfort than when Jaimie walked over to her one night and sat down beside her. At four feet and four inches and of slight weight, she gathered my larger sister into her arms and drew her head down to rest on Jaimie's shoulder.

"You be fine, Auntie Vick. I take care of you," she whispered and gently rubbed my sister's shoulders with one hand while holding her close with the other.

"I felt such love pour from those little arms that for a little while I was at peace. She made it possible for me to fall asleep as soon as I went to bed, something which had eluded me since leaving my home." Sis had tears in her voice as she spoke.

Jaimie gives fully of her heart and soul to those who will accept her and only one or two have had the ill manners to speak badly to or about her.

She is also heavily engaged in politics. When there is an election in the works, she watches every debate and when voting day comes, she proudly casts her vote for the person she thinks most worthy. She does not look at Republican, Democrat or Libertarian or Green party affiliations. She studies the people and decides which she likes and trusts the most. She voted for George Bush two years running, but the last election, Barrack Obama was her choice. We tell her no matter what anyone else thinks of her candidate, if she likes him/her, by all means cast her vote accordingly.

To have such purity of thought and openness of heart is a rare and wonderful thing. For a woman to come to adulthood and still have those traits should be the envy of us all. I look at my child/woman of thirty, who sees things anew over and over again, with the same joy the hundredth time as she had at the first and I try to see them through her eyes. I am learning to smile and enjoy the world more than I have in a long time. Jaimie is a role model worth following.

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