Splendid Mayhem: Stressful Week of School

Welcome To Holland

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 it, 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 guide books and make your wonderful plans. The Coliseum. The Michelangelo 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 of going to Italy."
But there's been a change in the flight plan. They've landed in Holland and 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's just a different place.
So you must go out and buy new guide books. 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've been there for a while and you catch your breath, you look around.... and you begin to notice that Holland has windmills....and 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, ever, ever go away... because the loss 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 lovely things ... about Holland.

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Stressful Week of School

My French test was Monday. Still don't know those results. I confirmed my teacher hates me today. I'll have to email and ask whats up on this on. She marked a half point off my homework for something she announced to the class that EVERYBODY did and she did NOT take off points for. This has happened more than once. I'm certainly going to ask why I had points taken off!
I turned in my play yesterday- I feel pretty confident it was good. I ended up doing "Fighting With Time" as my topic.
I had a French quiz this morning. I don't think I missed any.
I had my 1st developmental psych test this afternoon. He scared us thinking it was going to be horrible, but turns out it wasn't half bad. I know I missed a few, and there were only 50 questions- so hopefully I didn't do to bad.
I have a quiz tomorrow morning and one Friday morning. It's been a heck of a week. My 1st Genetics test is Monday (and I am SCARED TO DEATH on it!!!) Looks like another weekend hitting the books :(
I think I *might* have taken on a little much for my 1st semester back. Esp since I want all A's.

1 comment:

KieraSeptember 19, 2008 at 12:05 PM
I was reading this post and I can tell it has been stressful. Speaking as someone who has been there, call your professors and let them know about the death in the family. I have found that *most* professors are very understanding and willing to work with you. They really do want to see you succeed.
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