I just spent the evening with friends of ours who we have known through good times and bad. A major attraction of the evening for me was the opportunity to play with Rowena, their soon to be 1 year old grand daughter. I love kids and Rowenna is no exception.

I wasn’t sure how my first ever meeting with Rowenna would be since she is a little girl who has Downs Syndrome. My fears soon disappeared as we just had fun doing things middle aged guys to with 1 year old babies: just play and have fun.

But what about her future development? What about Rowenna’s life in the future? Will she ever be like other kids? Won’t she be a burden on society?

I don’t know the answers to any of these questions. As I reflected on my time with Rowenna I realized Rowenna might not contribute as much as some but she will definitely not be as big a burden as the people Fortune Magazine once honored and were referred to as “The smartest guys in the room”.