Fwd: [Downs-Heart] Celebrating Holland

[Guest guest]

HI Everyone,

I saw this posted on another list and I thought I

would share it. It is a follow up to Welcome to

Holland that I'm sure most of you are familar with.

It really describes how I feel. The mom that wrote

this has 10 years to my 17 months but each day I feel

like I am actually closer to where she is. It came at

a great time because I can use it for my speech on

Friday! I think it really puts things in perspective.

mom to Landon(DS)

and Ashton 17 months

Note: forwarded message attached.

=====

This came on another list.I thought that maybe some here would enjoy

it,too.Kathy

> Celebrating Holland - I'm Home

> By

> (my follow-up to the original " Welcome to Holland " by Perl Kingsley)

>

> I have been in Holland for over a decade now. It has become home. I have

> had time to catch my breath, to settle and adjust, to accept something

> different than I'd planned.

>

> I reflect back on those years of past when I had first landed in Holland.

I

> remember clearly my shock, my fear, my anger - the pain and uncertainty.

In

> those first few years, I tried to get back to Italy as planned, but

Holland

> was where I was to stay. Today, I can say how far I have come on this

> unexpected journey. I have learned so much more. But, this too has been

a

> journey of time.

>

> I worked hard. I bought new guidebooks. I learned a new language and I

> slowly found my way around this new land. I have met others whose plans

had

> changed like mine, and who could share my experience. We supported one

> another and some have become very special friends.

>

> Some of these fellow travellers had been in Holland longer than I and were

> seasoned guides, assisting me along the way. Many have encouraged me.

Many

> have taught me to open my eyes to the wonder and gifts to behold in this

new

> land. I have discovered a community of caring. Holland wasn't so bad.

>

> I think that Holland is used to wayward travellers like me and grew to

> become a land of hospitality, reaching out to welcome, to assist and to

> support newcomers like me in this new land. Over the years, I've wondered

> what life would have been like if I'd landed in Italy as planned. Would

> life have been easier? Would it have been as rewarding? Would I have

> learned some of the important lessons I hold today?

>

> Sure, this journey has been more challenging and at times I would (and

still

> do) stomp my feet and cry out in frustration and protest.

>

> And, yes, Holland is slower paced than Italy and less flashy than Italy,

but

> this too has been an unexpected gift. I have learned to slow down in ways

> too and look closer at things, with a new appreciation for the remarkable

> beauty of Holland with its' tulips, windmills and Rembrandts.

>

> I have come to love Holland and call it Home.

>

> I have become a world traveller and discovered that it doesn't matter

where

> you land. What's more important is what you make of your journey and how

> you see and enjoy the very special, the very lovely, things that Holland,

or

> any land, has to offer.

>

> Yes, over a decade ago I landed in a place I hadn't planned. Yet I am

> thankful, for this destination has been richer than I could have imagined!

>

> ( is a parent, advocate and presently the executive director

of

> the Family Support Institute in Vancouver, BC www

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