• Dana over at Uncommon Sense has an interesting take on the Welcome To Holland poem.
• Whirlpool is giving away a double-oven range; enter to win through November 30 at Whirlpool's Institute of Kitchen Science Facebook page, on the "Enter Sweepstakes" tab.
• Janis over at Sneak Peek At Me snapped the cutest photos of her little boy, Austin, in a pumpkin patch.
• If your kid has a cool idea for a toy, enter it in The Toy Shop Challenge, sponsored by Sears and By Kids For Kids. Winner gets a $1000 Sears gift card and a trip to New York City (with a parent, of course).
• The American Specialty Hockey Association offers teams for kids with special needs; I'm looking into it for Max.
• Kidfresh is running a Halloween contest; post a photo of your kid in their costume by Friday November 5 and you could win a Flip MinoHD Video Camera. Enter on the Kidfresh Facebook page.
• You can still enter to win those two supercute Halloween buckets from McD's and the Apple Dippers treat.
• The car wash costume is coming along; I am getting a little overly excited about it. Even though Max SAYS it's what he wants, will he actually get into it? My friend Lyla had this suggestion as a backup:
Call me overly pessimistic, but while I thought the airport reference was well-written, had lots of charm, and I like it, I really did, I still felt something was missing.
ReplyDeleteAnd again, this is coming from me, and I tend to be a bit...dark (ya think?).
But a real prequel to the Holland poem isn't about the airport, it's about the plane crash. Because you don't land in Holland, your plane smashes into it and you don't know where the hell you are. There are no signs, no counter help. In those opening days, sometimes weeks or months (again, depending greatly on the actual thing you are dealing with of course) it is such a whirlwind you are more like a castaway, trying to find your way through muck and filth and wreckage, and if you are lucky there are some people extending hands to help you along the way.
I dunno...I just feel that the road to Holland has been way, way darker for me. But her take was cool.
Ken, I was in that same plane wreck as you were. Well said.
ReplyDelete18 months into the CP diagnosis, now I know caused by a stroke, that medical treatment given sooner would probably have prevented, I'm still wandering around the plane, looking for my people and belongings. I still keep thinking, "how did I get here? This is not my beautoful house . . ." I consider it huge how many times in the last ten days I've explained to others that my daughter's constraint cast was just like an eye patch, without crying to a stranger. And I have yet to even once say I am glad because it made Hannah who she is. I do feel real joy watching my four year old praise her sister for picking things up in her right hand, and I feel real joy for Claire's emotional growth there, but I'm stuck on "not fair," and I don't know when I'll get unstuck.
ReplyDeleteMe too, Ginger. My son will be 2 next month and we didn't know anything was different until he was 9 months so it's only been a little over a year since we've been dealing with all of this.
ReplyDeleteWow Ellen thanks. Coming from you that means a great deal.
ReplyDeleteAnd I should point out that I am still not IN Holland yet. I'm still clawing my way through the brush trying to find it. Not saying that to engender anything, just saying that maybe to illustrate that as a possible reason as to why I feel so much darker.
Ken, really, there is no need to explain being dark, or seeming overly pessimistic. It's understandable. It's where I was when Max was very young. I've said it before, if I had started this blog back then, it would be a completely different blog. Ginger and Elizabeth, I was also stuck on the "Why us?" for the longest time. Things changed when Max was about five. It's different for everyone. The passage of time, the progress of your child, and the acceptance that comes make all the difference.
ReplyDeleteGroup hug!
I'm loving these comments . . . primarily because the criticism that I keep hearing (via email) is about being "too negative" and that "new parents would lose their optimism if they had to read this".
ReplyDeleteAnd I keep thinking, these people who tell me that they never had a negative thought must just not remember, or be lying to themselves or something. (Or everyone else is sugar-and-spice, and I'm just-a-miserable-human for being less-than-thrilled with my less-than-"normal" entry into parenthood.
So I'm glad to see you folks saying that I wasn't dark enough . . . it makes me feel like I'm walking an honest line, at least, if some are saying I'm too dark and others saying it wasn't dark enough.
:)
Love that onezie. Can't wait to see a picture of Max in the car wash costume! (Hi from the blog hop)
ReplyDeleteEllen, thanks for sharing Dana's follow up to Welcome to Holland, I would not have found it without you. There are so many bloggers and so little time : ) Love That Max is the one I read everyday.
ReplyDeleteSo thank you for sharing your life and sharing what others are doing.
Thanks for posting the Amsterdam International post.
ReplyDeleteI especially like the part about others saying how strong SNParents are and how amazing we are for doing what we do compared to thoughts of how we just do what we have to do for our children.
I had written AI, I think I would have added how all of the other friends and family we tell about our trip to Amsterdam smile that painful, forced smile and say "That's great!," while at the same time we are able to read their faces and hear how they're silently saying something totally different. They're really thinking "OMG! They went to HOLLAND! You know they said they were going to Rome, but I'm sure they just didn't pay attention when they were booking their tickets and it's really their fault they went to Holland. They messed something up, I'm sure. Maybe, just maybe, they deserve to be in Holland. I am SO glad I'm better about my travel plans and more on top of things than they are. I'd never go to Holland."
Or maybe that's just me...