Mr. Blue Sky

Recently I ordered some movies on the internet. Mr. Blue Sky is a movie I have heard about some time ago, but finally purchased and watched. Tears flowed. Not sad tears, but the movie did impact me because it speaks about two worries I have -

1. How will Quinn be perceived by society? (AKA the fear about whether she experience a lot of discrimination)

2. And will she be able to find someone to love?

Women have made great strides in the world. There is still a ways to go, I know because I am an nontraditional woman myself. My friend Wendy started a blog about women's issues and I am proud of her (check it out - it is under my blogs). But imagine your daughter as not facing only bias because she is a woman, but also facing more hurtful discrimination surrounding a disability of which many others can see and have historically shown a great bias towards. It is the latter part that is on my mind - because let's face it, the world has been and is currently cruel in a lot of ways towards those who don't meet the standards of "normal." The fact remains that the majority of women in the US who receive a prenatal diagnosis of DS in their child go on to abort that child because of the diagnosis - so what does this say about the value others see in someone like my child? I am not talking about pro life or pro choice here - I am talking about the fact that planned pregnancies are terminated solely because of a diagnosis of DS and individuals not wanting to raise such a child. That is a difficult thing to swallow when you look at your little girl and know that is happening. Yes, I know it really shouldn't matter what society thinks when my family obviously sees infinite value in Quinn, but still it is something she has to deal with as she ages and ultimately becomes a young woman. And if it impacts her, it impacts me.

Back to Mr. Blue Sky - this film speaks about these issues in the story of a girl with DS struggling to find acceptance, love, and inclusion in society. It wasn't an Oscar performance of a movie, but it was an excellent film. Ashley Wolfe and all the actors with DS were beautiful. If you haven't seen it, check it out...



-Karyn