a parents perspective

[Guest guest]

This was sent to me by Sari, who also belongs to the group.. Id just like to share cos i thought it was pretty neat. Thanks Sari

I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with adisability - to try to help people who have not shared that uniqueexperience to understand it, to imagine how it would feel. It's likethis......When you're going to have a baby, it's like planning a fabulous vacationtrip - to Italy. You buy a bunch of guide books and make your wonderfulplans. The Coliseum. The Michelangelo . The gondolas in Venice. Youmay learn some handy phrases in Italian. It's all very exciting.After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You packyour bags and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands. Thestewardess 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 toItaly."But there's been a change in the flight plan. They've landed in Hollandand there 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'sjust a different place.So you must go out and buy new guide books. And you must learn a wholenew language. And you will meet a whole new group of people you wouldnever have met.It's just a different place. It's slower-paced than Italy, less flashythan Italy. But after you've been there for a while and you catch yourbreath, you look around.... and you begin to notice that Holland haswindmills....and Holland has tulips. Holland even has Rembrandts.But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy... and they'reall bragging about what a wonderful time they had there. And for therest 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, ever, ever go away... because theloss of that dream is a very 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, the very lovelythings ... about Holland.