A Trip To Holland-author unknown

note: This is one of those things that have been passed around, particularly by special educators. It was written by the parent of a special needs child, author unknown. But, I think it's such a good analogy for the journey of special parenting, that I think it's worth posting here.

A Trip To Holland-Author Unknown
The experience of raising a child with a disability


When you are going to have a baby, it's like planning a fabulous trip to Italy. You buy a bunch of guidebooks, learn some handy Italian phrases and make wonderful plans. It's all very exciting. After several months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack your bags and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands. The flight attendant 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 has been a change in the flight plan. They have landed in Holland and there you must stay. The important thing is that they haven't taken you to a horrible, filthy place full of pestilence, famine, and disease. It's just a different place. So you 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 have never met. It is just a different place. It's slower-paced than Italy, less flashy than Italy. But, after you have been there for a while, and you catch your breath, you look around. You begin to notice that Holland has windmills, Rebrandts and tulips. 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 experience will never, ever go away. The loss of that dream is a very significant loss. But if you spend your life mourning the fact that you did not get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things about Holland.