One day I was sitting out front watching the kids playing. As usual the ice cream truck was coming and 4 out of my 5 kids asked to buy ice cream. Ryan said he didn’t want any. I asked him if he was sure. While my other kids were buying ice cream, Ryan ran up to me and said he did want to buy ice cream. I gave him some money and he walked down to the ice cream truck. He came back and then handed me my favorite ice cream. It was the sweetest moment.

A funny moment with my twins is when we went through a mirror maze. They both stopped at the same time and thought they had run into a mirror, but they were actually looking at each other. They also have cell phones with facial recognition. They can unlock each other’s phone. Then one time I was going to the store and the twins wanted to wait in the car, I said, ” I will be right back, I am just going to run into the store. ” Jenna answers back and says ” That might hurt mom, why don’t you just use the doors!”

20 years ago when Ryan was first born and then diagnosed with Down Syndrome, someone gave me a letter to read about planning a trip to Italy but your plane lands in Holland. Holland is not a bad place, but it is just not Italy , it is just different than we were expecting. Well, it has been more than a trip to Holland, it has been a journey to Holland with lots of unseen twists and turns. Ryan was born with 2 holes in his heart, a big bruise on his head, and jaundice. He stayed in the NICU and while we were there he was tested for Down Syndrome. I have to admit that I had a lot of tears. I really wanted Ryan to experience Italy. In Holland, people were very helpful at first, but as Ryan got older the help dropped off. Holland can be a very difficult place. I would say Ryan had 8 or more surgeries before he was 5 years old. Each event was a traumatic event for Ryan and truthfully for me two. He also had to ride in an ambulance several times for croup and was in the hospital for over a week with pneumonia. These things didn’t happen to my kids who were born in Italy. They may have had minor surgeries short hospitalizations, but not near as many as Ryan. Holland does have a lot of people like Ryan, but not enough resources. I have 5 kids, and all my other kids were born in Italy. They have had some bumps and bruises too, but not near to the extent of Ryan. Now Ryan sees his siblings who were born it Italy driving, going to college, working, going to parties, hanging out, being able to go to church where they have a place for them, they can have boyfriends and girlfriends and they like to travel. In Holland, Ryan is quite the home body. He likes to go to movies, Top Golf, playing putt putt, taking care of his dogs, watching wrestling, using his iPad. He tires easily and does’t feel like finishing most games – except Buddy League. Now that Ryan is older it is hard to find doctors who will see Ryan. Even though Ryan is on a private insurance, the fact that he also has Medicaid means that most doctors won’t see him. Dentists are traumatic too. Even though he has to be sedated. it is a battle to get him sedated. They also don’t have enough services to go around in Holland, so many are put on waiting lists for years. My son in Holland sees his 4 siblings in Italy and he would like to join them. In Italy they get to drive, date, go to concerts, talk or text their friends, possibly get married. Things he may not ever be able to do. If he could choose his job it would be a military cop or a wrestler. I love all my kids equally and am grateful for the opportunities they have, but it also hurts knowing all the opportunities Ryan will be left out of.

This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.

You’re going to publish a post today. Don’t worry about how your blog looks. Don’t worry if you haven’t given it a name yet, or you’re feeling overwhelmed. Just click the “New Post” button, and tell us why you’re here.

Why do this?

• Because it gives new readers context. What are you about? Why should they read your blog?
• Because it will help you focus you own ideas about your blog and what you’d like to do with it.

The post can be short or long, a personal intro to your life or a bloggy mission statement, a manifesto for the future or a simple outline of your the types of things you hope to publish.

To help you get started, here are a few questions:

• Why are you blogging publicly, rather than keeping a personal journal?
• What topics do you think you’ll write about?
• Who would you love to connect with via your blog?
• If you blog successfully throughout the next year, what would you hope to have accomplished?

You’re not locked into any of this; one of the wonderful things about blogs is how they constantly evolve as we learn, grow, and interact with one another — but it’s good to know where and why you started, and articulating your goals may just give you a few other post ideas.

Can’t think how to get started? Just write the first thing that pops into your head. Anne Lamott, author of a book on writing we love, says that you need to give yourself permission to write a “crappy first draft”. Anne makes a great point — just start writing, and worry about editing it later.

When you’re ready to publish, give your post three to five tags that describe your blog’s focus — writing, photography, fiction, parenting, food, cars, movies, sports, whatever. These tags will help others who care about your topics find you in the Reader. Make sure one of the tags is “zerotohero,” so other new bloggers can find you, too.