Our clothes drive ended just this last week and we were able to gather 4,568 pounds which then makes a total of $776.56, WooHoo! Seriously, CHINA HERE WE COME
Don’t forget about our event, May 19th at the Moorestown Rita’s on Camden ave. for a Kids Carnival. 12-4. We get 15% of all sales during that time and will also have some face painting, games and MORE!!! Hope to see everyone there!
And also, All you drinkers; A Bar Crawl event is in the process of planning and you should be hearing more about it in the near future!!! If that sounds interesting keep you eyes peeled!
Ok, so NO, we are NOT going to Holland! This is just a little thing written by Emily Kingsley, called ‘Going to Holland,’ where she describes her experience of having a child with a disability through this metaphoric story. I, Nicole, read it back when I first found out about Dougie while I searched for a perfect quote to wrap around Dougies footprint that I want to get tattooed. When I am asked how I felt when I found out his diagnosis my mind immediately comes back to this story. It is soo True (for us) and I hope sharing it with everyone it will give you all a perspective to what it is my husband Doug and I went through.
And real quick I’d like to say I wouldn’t want be in Italy ever, Holland is right where I am meant to be!
Going to Holland (Emily Perl Kingsley)
I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with a disability – To try and help people who have not shared that unique experience to understand it, to imagine how it would feel. It is 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 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 sent 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 awhile 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 the rest of 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.
Hope you enjoyed it; continue to follow us to Chinaand Back!
Hey Folks,
ReplyDeleteMy Google Alert just fired off with my name - Doug Dillon. Turns out it's another Doug D. Your blog site. Hi!
Interesting "coincidences". My adult daughter's name is Nicole and as a kid, my folks called me Dougie.
Take good care of that beautiful little boy of yours. I send you all my good wishes and best vibrations. Good luck in China. Oh, I'll slide some $ your way as well. Can't do a lot but . . .
Take care.