You'll understand the title in a minute.

Ranger Mike came to stay with us for the Thanksgiving Holidays. I give him a lot of crap for being Cliff Claven, but I actually like having the guy around. I must- because this is a banner year for being with my brother. We all (kids, us, Brother 1) went to see the family in Arizona in June; Brother 1 and I took our brother on a road trip in September; and now this. Can I even hope for Christmas too? We'll see. I love you, bro.

While I'm on the Thanksgiving roll...

• I'm thankful for so many things- family being number one. It always has been and always will be. This includes the 'kids' I've adopted along the way, and family members who choose to be apart.


• I'm thankful that The Hubs and I found each other, even if it did take a 'few' years. He's a wonderful partner to me and I can't think of a single person that doesn't agree. I've put him through the mill with all the head bonks and wonky bits, but at least he's no longer afraid of hospitals. heh heh


• I'm thankful for all of my friends, cyber and up close and personal. I don't know what I did to deserve the lot of you, but I'm glad I did it.


• I'm thankful for my puppy, Einstein. He makes me laugh every.single.day.


• I'm thankful for my beautiful home.


• I'm thankful for being able to make an income at something I love to do.


• I'm even thankful for all the bad stuff that has happened, because I really like the person I've become. I don't think I'd be me if it wasn't for all my life experiences.

With that said, here's where you'll understand the title of my post. I originally saved this to send to my mom and dad, but I think if you replace some of the words, it could apply to anyone whose life hasn't or isn't currently turning out the way they had planned.

WELCOME TO HOLLAND
by
Emily Perl Kingsley.
c1987 by Emily Perl Kingsley. All rights reserved

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.