This blog is all about me......I come here for respite in between caring for JoJo (our Daughter who has Special Needs)......I am addicted to starting new projects......I am becoming a fabric-a-holic... I love to try out recipes... take a beach walk and breathe in that salty blue air......love to have coffee...sip a glass of champagne......read a book......I am Queen of the Armchair and am inspired by all the wonderful blogs out there!!!

Saturday, October 25, 2008

Flowers - and a Meaningful Poem

Here are the beautiful flowers I received from my gorgeous sister - they were waiting for me when I came home from hospital, they are just soooo divine!!!

Today I'd like to share a poem I came across in a little publication entitled The Country Web - a poem I can fully relate to as we bring up our daughter with a disability ...

Welcome to Holland - written by a Mother, Source Unknown:

I am often asked to describe the experience of rasing 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 trip - to Italy. You buy a bunch of guidebooks and make your wonderful plans. The Colosseum, Michelangelo's David - the gondolas of 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 suppposed 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 famine and disease. It's just a different place. So you must buy new guidebooks. 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, you look around, and you begin to notice that Holland has windmills, Holland has tulips, Holland even has Rembrandts.

But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy, and they are 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 is what I had planned'.

The pain of that will never go away, because the loss of a 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.

And how true every word is - sometimes I think it would be lovely to meet this very special Mother ....

Late entry - Kate Morton whom I emailed a couple of weeks ago about how I thoroughly enjoyed her book The Forgotten Garden replied to my email ... how cool is that!!!

12 comments:

Oma aka Meme said...

a great thinking poem-- and now - how are you feeling and how is that chair :-)
hugs from Meme who loves your flowers

cathypentonatelier said...

That is such an amazing verse...So beautiful...When I was young and lived in a very small community our teacher's daughter was disabled and she was my age and so we spent a lot of time together and it opened my eyes to a totally different world that I would have never known without those years... Your blog is looking so lovely...Love Cathy xxxx

~j~ said...

Thank you so much for visiting my blog and leaving such a kind comment, isn't this an amazing community? to be able to connect all the way across the ocean?! You have a lovely blog and i wish you many happy days doing so as you recover from your surgery and beyond.
blessings to you and your family,
julia
this is a lovely poen by the way, very,very heartfelt.

Pineapple Villa said...

Hi there, what lovely flowers. I have read that verse before - it is so true, not that i am in that situation but it really does explain it perfectly. Hope you had a happy weekend, Mel xxx

vosgesparis said...

what a beautiful story poem you gave us there ;) Though you are describing another kind of live in Holland, I can assure you also real live in Holland isn't that bad ... and you what... we are only a day drive away from Italy ;)

love from Holand xxx

vicki archer said...

How beautifully written and how inspiring. Thank you for visiting French Essence and such a delight to find your blog xv.

Kimonos and Sushi(OLD BLOG) said...

Hi, hoiw are you feeling? What a great poem and such lovely flowers.

kari and kijsa said...

Beautiful!! A lovely analogy!

Have a wonderful day!
kari & kijsa

Sea Angels said...

Beautiful flowers, gorgeous verse, I just love your wonderful outlook on life, it makes you a very, very, special person, whom I just love dropping in on for a nice cup of tea, wonderful.
Hugs you lovely lady
Lynn xx

Caroline said...

That's a great poem...really puts everything in perspective. In life I have found myself longing for Italy and getting Holland instead...it's not bad, just not what I expected. Yet, I need to learn to love Holland.... Brilliant!

Millie said...

Thank you so much for sharing those very moving words with us Dzintra. It has made me stop & spend some quiet time thinking about my all boys & how precious they are to me.
Millie ^_^

Debbies-English-Treasures said...

Hi sweetie,
Sorry for missing some of your lovely posts!
Specially this one...
It was so special to read!
Thanks for sharing!
Please give a big hug from me to your wonderful daughter!
And a big one for you too!
You are such a special and loving "Mummy"!

Debbie Moss

(England)

Welcome To My World

Hello, my name is Dzintra Ingrid ... have been known as Ingrid and since our Sea Change I have started to use Dzintra ... pronounced without the D ... (but still known as Ingrid, I know, it's confusing ...)

Welcome to my world ... a journal of our Sea Change ... Mum to three wonderful children ... bringing up a daughter with a disability and seeing life through her eyes ... being a new Nanna ... photos ... inspiring quotes ... taking on a cookery course ... the odd recipe ... and trying to get some stitching done amongst all this ...