Splendid Mayhem: Missouri Bound!

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.

Saturday, March 28, 2009

Missouri Bound!

It's snowing! It was 70+ earlier in the week and it's snowing!!!!!! Crazy weather in the south.

We've been watching road conditions- most say "travel only if absolutely necessary". But, we had 70 degree weather earlier in the week, so the roads cannot be that bad. I think we are going to try to truck to Springfield, MO tonight. They have an AWESOME resturant where they throw rolls at you :) Good southern fried food. Yum. And, Bass Pro Shop. How could we make this trip without stopping there? I could- Adam could not.

From S'field we will be around 4 hours from St Louis (give or take), so tomorrows drive shouldn't be to bad. Monday's weather looks the best- the day we will be in the hospital all day long! Go figure. And, rain Tuesday! The day we drive home. Yippeeee!

I will update as I can. I am on Facebook and you may get more out of my "status updates" b/c I can do those from my phone. As well as pictures. I can upload those instantly. If I'm not your friend, add me :) My email is jklduncan@yahoo.com I think you can add me that way.

Wish us luck!

Our house sitters promised not to pull pranks on us this go around! haha (I posted pictures when we got home from Florida last August)

2 comments:

DawnMarch 30, 2009 at 3:08 PM
Hope the appt. is going well. Thinking of you guys!
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AmyMarch 30, 2009 at 5:28 PM
I also hope that things are going well for you all. I am praying for Logan and for much needed answers to help him! Be safe. I keep lurking, and I mean to post, but... I am agig fast and forgetful! LOL! Seriously!!
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