Our script

I have always loved going to the movies, and I especially love when I can read a great book and picture it in my head as a movie.  I like to think about what the characters and setting might look like or how I would change the script if that book became a movie.  Whether consciously or not, we all have a certain "script" in mind for how our lives will go.  Very rarely, however, does that script play out in its original form. 

When I was teaching, one of the things my fifth graders, and even my second graders, disliked the most was the writing process.  They wanted to just write one draft of whatever the assignment was and be done.  They moaned and groaned when I would edit their work, ask them to add more details, and explain to them the difference between a rough draft and a final copy.  I would assure them over and over that their favorite authors probably wrote multiple drafts before their books came to fruition. 

Such is the case in life as well.  The "script" that we have in our minds is just one of the first steps in the writing process: a rough draft.  There are multiple edits and revisions.  Sometimes we might not like the rewrite and would prefer to toss it and start all over.  Many times we don't have control over our own edits and must accept that they are part of our new script.  Still, other times, we might come to realize that while this script is not what we had originally planned to write for ourselves, the final copy is something beautiful...a polished piece with a riveting story, interesting characters, and important lessons to be learned. 

A new friend recently told me a story that seems relevant here.  She knew a couple who had also gone through years of fertility treatments.  They finally became pregnant and found out at their 20-week ultrasound that the baby had severe genetic abnormalities and would likely not survive.  Under the advice of their doctors, they decided to abort the pregnancy.  A few fertility treatments later, they were thrilled to find out they were pregnant again.  This time they were told that the baby would have Down syndrome.  After much thought and consideration, they decided again to abort the pregnancy.  This was, of course, very painful for me to hear, but my friend went on to tell me that the couple went through very immense regret about their decision.  The woman had been an interior designer and the man a software engineer, but they both went back to school to work with special needs children.   She became a special education teacher, focusing mainly on Down syndrome, and he became a counselor to help families with special needs children.  Their life script, while completely different than what they had envisioned for themselves, changed for the better.

Similarly, we are going through that transformation and acceptance of how our life script has changed...and for the better.  Though Jackson and Olivia won't realize it for years to come, so has their script changed as well.  The characters, setting, and plot of our story have been revised.  Our script is now one in which important life lessons are learned on a daily basis, and one in which the sweetest little guy keeps you from ever wanting to put the book down.  Love you, Lukey!