Watching Ruby’s friendships blossom and grow bring my heart so much happiness. One of my main fears after we found out she had Down syndrome was wondering if she would have lifelong friends, because mine have been such important pieces of my life. I know now I have nothing to worry about!! I love hearing stories of other friendships and how they impact each other, so I wanted to share this story of friendship that was shared by Bethany’s mom: 

“Bethany and Grace share a very special and amazing friendship. They became friends in the first grade. They were both in the same class and on the same cheer-leading team. They had so much fun being together, cheering, sleepovers, church activities and doing lots of other fun things. Even when the gap in their development widened their friendship continued to grow stronger. Senior year they both decided they wanted to have their graduation party together. I remember a time when Grace wrote Bethany a letter expressing that she considered her not only a friend but a sister by choice. Together they went to grade school, Junior High, High School and now they were so excited because they were going to attend college with each other.

Once Bethany and Grace started at the University of Toledo they began to participate in activities that promoted inclusion. One example was when they got on the Rockathon Committee to help raise money for the Children’s Miracle Network. This was a wonderful opportunity for other students to witness their friendship and also see the importance of inclusion. One of the days during the fund raiser everyone had to dance for around 14 hours. They saw how much spirit Bethany had and awarded her the title of Miss Rockathon at the end of the night. She obviously made an impression on the students. I believe that inclusion is important for our community to see. Everyone wants to be loved and accepted. As a hostess at Outback Steakhouse and with all the other things Bethany has done, I know her community is behind her and wants the best for her.” 

Ruby is only in first grade, but I can see that she already will have lasting friendships like this and that makes my heart smile!