Sunday, May 1, 2011

Welcome to Holland

Lincoln is a very special baby, and a regular birth announcement can't possibly say it all.  God has made Lincoln special and has chosen us to be his parents.  He is a beautiful, sweet baby.  He was born with his daddy's blue eyes and his mommy's brown hair.  He has Chad's cheeks and my nose.  He was also born with an extra 21st chromosome.  We're proud and in love with our new baby, and want everyone else to be too.  We need love and congratulations, not condolences. Oh, and diapers.  We need diapers.

I ran across the following essay that uses a great metaphor to explain how it feels to be the parent of a child with special needs:
 ***
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 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 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.

--Emily Perl Kingsley

10 comments:

Tina said...

Megan, You are an amazing example to me. I Love you, I Love Lincoln, I love your family! I know that Lincoln could only come to you. Thank you for sharing. Thank you for your courage. Thank you for finding joy. Thank you for choosing to be the mother that only you can be. Lincoln is beatiful and I cannot wait to meet him. I LOVE YOU!

Jaime Lynne said...

You already know that I am proud to have spent the last 28 years living in "Holland." I look forward to watching your family grow along with Lincoln over the years.

What a perfect way to share this piece of Lincoln with your readers! Definitely, welcome to Holland.

See Mack Snow said...

Megan, Lincoln is so blessed to be in your family. I am honestly so excited for your guys and for all the experiences you'll have together. You are an amazing mom!!!

emilybolles said...

Congratulations!!! Lincoln is so blessed to have such a wonderful family!...and you are so blessed to have him! He is so cute and I look forward to seeing more pictures and hearing more stories about your adorable kids! You are an inspiration to me!

Frances Wallace said...

Granny Franny and Papa love Holland!

Lincoln is beautiful and we can't wait to have many awesome moments with our adorable grandson.

Melissa said...

He is beautiful, as are your other children. I truly believe that there is nothing random or coincidental about the way children are placed in families. You were meant to be Lincoln's mommy and he was meant to be your baby. I look forward to seeing and reading more about him as he grows.

You may have already heard of this blog, but www.kellehampton.com is a wonderful blog of a photographer and mother of two beautiful little girls, one of whom also has an extra 21st chromosome.

Cari said...

Megan, I know that this won't be easy but I also know what you must be feeling right now, that these are the sweetest of all babies. There is always a special spirit around them that makes you want to stay around them. I know that this baby is bringing with him more blessings than you can see right now even. Enjoy, and I can't wait to see how much more he could push the bounds of cuteness!!!!

Rachel H. said...

he is perfectly handsome, wish you lived closer, I have diapers! Can't wait to hear more about the beautiful flowers in Holland!

The Wallace Family said...

I think he is gorgeous!!! Lincoln has the most beautiful blue eyes and the cutest sneeze and I can't wait to meet him :) Congratulation Wallace Family!!! :)

Love,
Taysom

Anonymous said...

For a lot of my life I have baby sat/nannied (is that a word??) for different down syndrome children. They are such a joy to be around--as hilarious as any other child--and they open your perspectives to new things that you probably otherwise wouldn't have. I'm excited for what this little boy will bring to you and your family!

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