For the most part she's quite charming and engaging, just ask any of her adoring fans. Okay, so maybe they're not fans, but they recognize her as easily as if she were one. After living in this small town for about four years, my daughter is just shy of true stardom, but a full-fledged celebrity nonetheless. It's quite impossible for me to go anywhere with her without someone recognizing her. It doesn't matter where we go or what time of day , someone always says "Look, there's Abbey. Hi Abbey!". Even if they don't come right out and greet her, we can hear her name whispered somewhere close to us. Christmas shopping has become a real experiment in social graces. We spent more than three hours in one store simply because we had to stop every few minutes when someone recognized her. I didn't want to be rude, but by the end of the second hour I was ready to cover her with my coat and go speeding to the check-out.
I'm sure friends and family thought I was exaggerating - that is, until we went trick-or-treating for Halloween. Abbey was dressed as an oompaloompa, complete with orange face and green hair and still people we didn't know were saying, "There's Abbey!" Even make-up and darkened streets couldn't hide her. It's clear now that I was not exaggerating in the least.
I'd have to say that it's quite an unusual experience to have so many people go out of their way to greet and acknowledge your child. It really is like having a tiny celebrity at your side. What makes this even stranger is that we, the rest of the family, probably know only a handful of people in the whole town. How odd that we, the adults, couldn't bring enough people together to fill a small room, while our daughter knows enough people to fill an entire ballroom. Where's the balance in something like that? Furthermore, I don't even have a name anymore, I'm merely "Abbey's mom".
I'd like to say that the reason people remember her is because they don't meet a lot of kids with Down Syndrome, but that isn't the only reason. It's her outgoing and social personality that leaves such an impression on people. Sure, she's a kid with special needs, but she's also a very special kid in addition to the extra chromosome. While she may be as mischevious as other kids, she has a pure heart that will never fade, despite her age, and people can spot something like that right away.
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