Earlier today, I was reading the newest blog post by a well-known blogger, Kelle Hampton. Today is World Down Syndrome Awareness Day and Kelle has a baby with Down Syndrome. I don't remember how I found Kelle's website, but I encourage you to read the birth story of her daughter, Nella (click here to read). You will cry...you will ugly cry...so be forewarned! In her post today, Kelle was talking about the word "retarded" and how sensitive she has become to the word. That's when I had my lightbulb moment and Googled "spread the word to end the word" to see if that word was indeed the "word" I'd been grasping for this whole month.

I don't think I ever use this word (I say "think" because I don't remember using it since probably middle school) but I know, like Kelle says in her blog post, that it's easy to throw the word out there--in a non-demeaning way--when you do something without thinking. You may not use the word to describe a person with mental disabilities, but I think it's important to just not use the word at all...even if you are calling yourself that. So, I encourage you to think before you speak and to end the word with yourself. Don't spread it to the next generation!

To read Kelle's full blog post for today, click here.