Step by step by step. For our daughter Penny, who has Down syndrome, the path toward adulthood and increasing independence involves many more deliberate and supported steps than it will for our other kids.

We had a chance to take one of those steps over Thanksgiving, when we were all flying together. Because Penny recently turned 18, she doesn’t have TSA Precheck status automatically anymore. Her siblings do because they are minors in our care. Last time this happened, her dad walked through the typical security line with her. This time, we decided she could go through it by herself.

And she did. Step by step by step, she is moving toward a good future.

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