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cutliffes

Latest Activity

Nov 2, 2011

Date Joined

Sep 23, 2007

About this user

I 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, to imagine how it would feel. It's like this...

When you'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. Michelangelo's David. The gondolas in 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 on going to Italy!"

But there has been a change in the flight plan.

They've landed in Holland and there you must stay.

So you must go out and buy new guidebooks.

And you must learn a whole new language.

And you will meet a whole new group of people you would never have met.

It's just a different place. It's slower-paced than Italy, less flashy than Italy.

But after you have been there for awhile and you can catch your breath,

You can look around and you begin to notice that

Holland has windmills.
Holland has tulips.
Holland even has Rembrandts.

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's what I had planned."

And the pain of that will never, 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 get to Italy,

You may never be free to enjoy...
the very special, very lovely things about Holland.
Writen by Emily Perl Kingsley

Age

Country

United States

Occupation

Full Time Mom

Interests

Church, Family,

less

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