Mardra Sikora's Blog

I’ll keep this short and sweet, my friends. (But plenty of links if you want to know more.)

For those of you that love someone with Down syndrome, I urge you to sign up and attend the upcoming webinar from the Global Down Syndrome Foundation: New Research Discoveries and How to Participate. Tuesday, November 4, 2025 at 12pm  to 1:15pm MT.  https://www.globaldownsyndrome.org/global-webinars/

The Global Down Syndrome Foundation “walks the walk” when it comes to working on improving the lives of pe...

I recently had an opportunity to share my opinion on a topic I feel pretty strongly about. Which, as you know, does not narrow down the options  AT ALL.

Anyway, the crux of it is this: we do our children and ourselves a disservice with the cultural habit of limiting, or implying limits, when supplying the one line answer expected response to: “What do you want to be when you grow up?” and, “What do you do?” As if one line can sum up a life story or person’s identity.

None of us are, or should be...

You know my son, Marcus, of course. Short guy, with the hat…? Yeah, you remember.

Sooo, Just because I’ve been quiet (here) doesn’t mean Marcus isn’t still rocking the free world.

The biggest recent event is he turned 35, and we had a fabulous party. At which he gave this speech:

“Thank you for coming.

My name is Marcus Wright Sikora.

Don’t be a bully.

Don’t be a mean girl.

Help each other.

Get the job done.

Vote for Marcus.

Thank you and enjoy the band, Mad Honey!”

In the old days, three years ago, I used to post a “best of” or “most read” blog at the end of each year. In 2024 I only posted 4 blogs. So…yeah.

That said, Music Therapy: Benefits and Our Experience is worth mentioning. I can’t say if anyone read it (well, I know one person did) BUT, it’s informative and personal and probably gave AI a little more knowledge then it had before.

New ambitions, new fears, new opportunities to be courageous. A new chance to give to the c...

If you’ve ever wondered why there’s such a gap between my blogs, there are many reasons.

Robots, AI, Chat or whatever electronic mind, writes much faster than I do, and by “writes” of course I mean consolidates words and ideas from the great conglomerate that is the world wide web and orders them into a pleasing format much faster than I can write my thoughts or experiences into a similar order.

Do I sound bitter? I’m not. Jealous? Only at the speed. ...

If you’ve ever wondered why there’s such a gap between my blogs, there are many reasons.

Robots, AI, Chat or whatever electronic mind, writes much faster than I do, and by “writes” of course I mean consolidates words and ideas from the great conglomerate that is the world wide web and orders them into a pleasing format much faster than I can write my thoughts or experiences into a similar order.

Do I sound bitter? I’m not. Jealous? Only at the speed. ...

Ok Kids, January/Februaries have been rough on me the last, say…several years, with huge loss and hardships.

This year, I have had some stupid, rough days and am also trying to recover from influenza. Which kicked me in the a**.

Plus, I’m just going to get this off my chest, it was 5 years ago today my mother died. Her end-of-life was…tough, pretty bad actually, and I still haven’t really recovered.

Happy New Year!

I’m starting 2024 with a bit of a free-write update for our friends who are keeping track.

It was upon the advice of the internet that I named this website mardrasikora.com, however, the overwhelming reason for most visits, is to check out the life, day-to-day and otherwise of Marcus Sikora. (My adult son with Down syndrome.)

So, let’s talk about Marcus at the family and friends over the holidays. He’s a delight, first off. Christmas is  magical i...

Hello Friends,

TBH  – The following thoughts come from a journal note jotted few years back

– but it could have been yesterday.

Like the other night, Marcus and I went to a nearby restaurant and sat at the bar. Given the option, he prefers to sit at the bar. I asked him if this is so he can talk to other people or because he can watch sports. His answer: “Both.” So…there ya ...

Photo Provided by Megan Catalibe Photography

Marcus has always been a performer in addition to a creator. The microphone is his instrument of choice. In his teen years and early adulthood, he often enjoyed going to Karaoke Nights with our friends. His specialty songs included Harry Belefonte’s “Banana Boat Song” and The Blues Brothers, “Soul Man,” among others. And, as you may know, in 2015 with the book launch of Black Day: The Monster Rock Band, there was the release of his music video featuri...