Dear Joseph, Love, Mom

This is the story of Joseph's, as well as his family's, journey in the world of the disabled, a world plagued by discrimination, suffering, isolation, and cruelty. It is also a story of the love, determination, bravery, and kindness extended to Joseph by the people who were willing to see beyond his disabilities and allowed themselves to be entranced by his beautiful smile, his contagious laugh, his physical beauty, and his amazing strength of spirit. He was a valiant warrior who exceeded the low expectations set for him, constantly encouraged by parents who loved him without conditions and believed in his ability to soar above those expectations given him by a world that failed to consider his amazing strength of spirit. In the process, he taught his parents many things that they never imagined would be a part of their journey in this life. He taught them to be brave. He taught them to be strong. He taught them that the strength of the human spirit is something that should never be underestimated. He taught them by example. Sometimes the disabled achieve things considered to be great by the world's standards, and sometimes they achieve things that are still great, just not on the world stage. The journey of my son, Joseph, was the latter. He fought the smaller battles that might eventually lead to winning the war. His was that proverbial "one voice singing in the darkness." My husband and I listened to his "voice." He made us better people by having known and "listened" to him. It is now up to us to continue to spread his message until the whole world has heard it. The disabled, just by being themselves, have the ability when given the opportunity to enable people to see their bravery, their strength of spirit, and the amazing grace with which they face their disabilities to effect a change in the hearts and minds of people, ultimately making the world a better place one person at a time. Ultimately, isn't that the reason that we all come to this earth, to become better people and leave the world a better place than we found it?