I wanted to share this beautiful Poem... I ran across this in another forum last year while researching
special needs children. I spent a tremendous amount of time researching during and after Ethans
aprexia diagnosis so that I could better understand his delays and his needs. I just love this poem and I believe it really speaks to the heart of a
special needs parent.
Welcome to Holland
By Emily Pearl KingsleyI am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with a disability to try to help people who have not shared that unique experience to understand it, to imagine how it would feel. It's like this:
When your're going to have a baby, it's like planning a fabulous vacation trip to Italy. You buy a bunch of guidebooks and make your wonderful plans... the Coliseum, Michaelangelo's David, the gondolas of Venice. You may learn some handy phrases in Italian. It's all very exciting.
After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack your bags and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands. The stewardess comes in and says, "Welcome to Holland."
"Holland?!", you say. "what do you mean Holland? I signed up for Italy! I'm supposed to be in Italy. All my life, I've dreamed of going to Italy!"
The stewardess replies, "There's been a change in the flight plan. We've landed in Holland and it is here you must stay."
The important thing is that they haven't taken you to a horrible, disgusting, filthy place full of pestilence, famine and disease. It is just a different place. So, you must go and buy new guidebooks. You must learn a whole new language. You will meet a whole new group of people you would never had met. It is just a different place. It is slower-paced than Italy, less flashy than Italy, but after you have been there while and you catch your breath, you look around and you begin to notice that Holland has windmills, Holland has tulips, Holland even has Rembrants. But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy and they're all bragging about what a wonderful time they had there. And for the rest of your life you will say, "Yes, that's where I was supposed to go. That is what I had planned."
The pain of that will never, ever, ever go away because the loss of that dream is a very significant loss. But if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn't go to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things about Holland.
This girl...this beautiful, smiley, fun loving girl.....woke up at 3 am.. and was ready to play....she would not take no for an answer...so of course...we played .. and played .. and finally....slept....these are the days we will cherish when she is older... and we can get some sleep {giggle}....she's worth it... they all are!
This was earlier this week at the Proctors house...Ethan was playing with Brandon in the pool
Trying to show how long Brandon is getting .. this was this past week at the mall...in front of Tiffany's.... {giggle}
Earlier this week at the Proctors...the boys are pulling the wagon...it was hilarious when the pushed it into the pool! No one was in it then {gratefully} but the look on Ethan's face was PRICELESS
Speech and the Mall on Ethan's last day of Speech school for the summer....Our little Lady Bug on a little Lady Bug! { giggle }
I would love to know what he's thinking!
Our little Pooh in her leggings ( they protect her knees from the hard wood floors ) We think she is adorable in them of course, but I can't stop humming "FlashDance"....{giggle}
Chloe tries Watermelon for the 1st time....after a couple bites she decides she likes it!
Look at the Cowboy!
We can't believe that Chloe has almost outgrown her swing...she seemed so tiny in it the 1st time we put her in it.....{ they grow so quickly }
Pooh really likes the little boat she swims in ...
boo! who is that pool monster with our Pooh? { it's brandon....giggle }
Jacob has taken to literally attempting to climb INTO the refrigerator...hilarious!
Chloe is always laughing and is such a happy baby...
I could look at this all day... O, wait... I do! { giggle }
I am loving that tiny foot....{ hehe }
Never fear, our Super Hero's are here! Hehe...who said we have to wait until Halloween to dress up?!
and you just know, he's on top of the world! {giggle}
Jacob just loves to look down and watch the ice skaters below..
and this little ladybug had a blast crawling all over the play place....
When we (finally) got home. I was the cool mom and let the boys skip naps and stay up watching Finding Nemo... fun time!
Chloe loves to play with the boys toys! She is pulling up into a kneeling position often and crawling all over. She is also trying to pull up into a standing position. Chloe used her "pincer" fingers to pick up cheerios for the 1st time yesterday....
No, I am not taking the babies to a Pub { giggle }... as you know, Brandon is on vacation with his Dad this week and they have spent a couple of days in San Antonio.. Sea World, The Alamo...and today Brandon sent me this picture ( on that nifty new phone someone got him for his birthday..heh) ... It turns out that Brian had eaten at the exact same Pub when he was living in London...I thought that was neat... the same Pub, different sides of the Pond...
While Brandon is off on vacation..{can I tell you how much I miss him } the Peeps play on... today I took them to a mall to play ( out of the horribile heat ) and a good time was had by all..
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