How Life is Measured: Holland

Monday, December 3, 2007

Holland

To those who were confused by my Holland reference in the last post... "Welcome to Holland" is an essay written by Emily Perl Kingsley in reference to raising her child with Down Syndrome. I first read this in the LPA welcome packet as it has become someone of an inspirational reading for all parents of "differently-abled" children. "Welcome to Holland"

4 comments:

Lisa said...: It took me a second when I first saw your mention of Holland to realize it was this poem. I blame my chaotic life right now for my slow reaction. I've been wanting to post that poem on my site too. One of my favorites.
Feel free to link to our site. I need to set up some type of "links to others sites" as well. Will probably take me a bit to do that. I'm waiting for things to calm down in our life.. Hopefully, that will happen!; December 4, 2007 at 11:51 AM
The Johnson Family 5 said...: Holland isn't such a bad place to be... I agree!; December 4, 2007 at 6:41 PM
Jennifer said...: I never really wanted to visit Holland. It held no interst for me. But now that I'm there.....WOW! What a great trip! Now there's no place I'd rather be!

Grandma Merciez; December 4, 2007 at 7:04 PM
Anonymous said...: Hi Catherine, I read your blog after I got your mom's holiday card . . . :) As you know, my oldest son Ben was born with significant hearing loss, which means I am familiar with the Holland poem too. I thought you might also like to read this mother's day essay:
http://www.signingtime.com/rachel/?s=pray

Best,
Jennifer; December 14, 2007 at 4:09 PM

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Our Story

Our story is a both normal and extraordinary. My son Owen, had a dramatic beginning. Days before he was born, doctors diagnosed him with lethal skeletal dysplasia and he was given a life expectancy of minutes to hours.

Their original diagnosis would prove wrong and he was assessed to have Achondroplasia, the most common form of dwarfism.
If you'd like a raw backstory, this is a good place to start:
The Letters

This blog's genesis had several motivations. I needed an outlet for my sorrows, joys and confusion. I needed an avenue to meet people. I needed to try and let others know that they were not alone. I am happy to say all of my needs were fulfilled.

The poor blog has been neglected as of late because my desire for cathartic expression became less and less as I melded into the folds of everyday life. As a first time mother, I realized that I wouldn't know the difference between raising a average height son vs raising a dwarf son. Interestingly enough, the birth of my second son Liam has highlighted some of those long forgotten struggles.

I make no promises as to the frequency (or quality) of my writing but can only promise that when I do it will be honest.

Monday, December 3, 2007

Holland

4 comments:

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