I sat on the rocks, cameras at my feet, soaking in the warmth of our long-awaited early spring sunshine. It was a rare minute of solitude — one of the first moments I had to myself after the birth of our twins.
Jen and Brett walked up the hill hand-in-hand, laughing alongside each other, looking beautiful and oh-so-happy. I remember taking note of their nervous smiles — his, because I was about to photograph the two of them for my fabricated personal project, and hers, because she and I knew something he didn’t.
Jen told Brett I was photographing various couples in love. It wouldn’t take long, she said — I just needed a few shots of the two of them together.
Brett, being the incredibly sweet man he is, barely gave it a second thought. I had them write cards to each other, she told him, to express their feelings of love toward one another. They’d open the cards together while I took a few photos. Jen opened her card first.
“Every morning when I wake up, I thank the stars for giving me one more day with you,” Brett wrote. “Please know I am forever yours. Love you Always!”
***
Nearly two years ago, as Jen and I sat down for dinner at a wedding we were photographing together, we talked marriage, and more specifically, babies. Someday, she told me, she and Brett would love to start a family. They were enjoying life together as a couple first — traveling the world, spending nights out with friends, taking long weekends away to visit family. However, when the time came that she found out she was pregnant, she asked me if I’d be willing to take photos of her telling Brett the news.
“Of course I will,” I said with a smile. What an honor to witness.
More than a year later, a phone call from Jen quickly started with, “Do you remember when I asked you …”
“Absolutely,” I interrupted. 🙂
***
Jen set down her card and glanced my way as if to say, no turning back now. Brett started to open his envelope. The sun shown on their backs and the laughter of children playing on the playground below filled the air.
Brett began reading and tears filled his eyes.
“You’re going to be an amazing DAD!” Jen had written.
As with any good love story, Jen and Brett’s baby adventure doesn’t end here. This is the part where I get stuck, where my fingers want to type something profound or sweet or perfect or imperfect, yet I’m not quite sure how to accurately portray a couple who shows pure, simple, astounding grace. Jen and I have been friends for years — more than a decade, to be exact — but it wasn’t until the past few months that my eyes were truly opened to the person she has always been.
Late this past summer, a few months after I took the photos above, I stood in my boys’ room, getting them out of their cribs after their naps. Tears filled my eyes and my heart raced.
Just a few minutes before, I received a text message from Jen saying they received their test results — it was the same genetic blood test I had taken when I was 20 weeks pregnant with the twins. Jen and I both had abnormal findings on our 20 week ultrasounds.
“It was positive,” her text read. “Our baby girl has Down syndrome.”
“Call me when you’re ready to talk,” I wrote back. I felt as if the wind had been knocked out of me.
Within seconds, my phone rang.
“I guess I’m ready to talk now,” Jen said on the other end.
I stood at the top of our stairway and listened to Jen’s voice over the phone. All I heard was love and acceptance. Her grief for the loss of the baby they thought they’d have would follow, but at that moment, just hours after they received the diagnosis, all I heard was love.
Baby Girl, you won the lottery. As your mama says, you won the chromosome lottery, but I know something she will never tell you — you won the parent lottery, too. I have never seen a couple handle such unexpected news with more grace, more honesty, and more love. I know Brett has been Jen’s rock throughout her pregnancy, and there’s simply nothing more I can wish for, for my friend, but a good, good man as her husband. You got this, J+B. I just know this sweet, beautiful little girl will be the wish you never knew to hope for.
October is Down Syndrome Awareness Month. Jen and I were recently talking about a place called GiGi’s Playhouse, a Down syndrome achievement center. This center serves children and adults of all ages, offering educational and therapeutic programs to families at no charge. A location is planned for the Milwaukee area in the very near future. The center’s literacy program alone has taught thousands of kids with Down syndrome to read every year. I am a huge believer in centers such as this — what an amazing place for families to learn, grow and be surrounded by positive acceptance.
If you have a story, thought or person in your life who has Down syndrome, please share below. If you’d simply like to give Jen and Brett a virtual hug, leave a few words for them in the comments section. For every comment made, love, katie photography will be donating $10 to GiGi’s Playhouse. Let’s help this wonderful center get off to a great start in our area.
To read more about Jen and Brett’s journey with their baby girl (due this December), please be sure to check out Jen’s blog, too. Her photography is about as good as it gets. 🙂 http://jensextonphotographyblog.com/
Comments