Each day comes bearing its own gifts. Untie the ribbons! ************ "Joy is what happens when we allow ourselves to recognize how good things really are." **************
"A vigorous five-mile walk will do more good for an unhappy but otherwise healthy adult than all the medicine and psychology in the world." --Paul Dudley White
************ "Now if you are going to win any battle you have to do one thing. You have to make the mind run the body. Never let the body tell the mind what to do. The body will always give up. It is always tired in the morning, noon, and night. But the body is never tired if the mind is not tired." - George S. Patton, U.S. Army General, 1912 Olympian
I am often asked to describe the experience of raising 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 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 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 for a while and you catch your breath, 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’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.
15 comments:
These are nice pictures. In Connecticut we don't have any snow to speak of right now. All the storms have been turning to rain.
Happy WW!
Yay for snow! Hope you are enjoying your visit. I love the last picture.
Lovely photos Marcia.
We don't have snow here in the tropical country we live in.
Take care!
It's been snowing for two days just north of you - I'm in Ontario - and I've got to say I agree with you: this stuff is magical.
Praying for your dad...you're a good soul for being there for him.
I hope you'll drop by for a peek at my WW contribution:
http://writteninc.blogspot.com/2008/01/wordless-wednesday-hooked.html
I'd like to wish you a wonderful Wordless Wednesday!
Carmi
still pretty cold there huh.love the thirds shot by the way..;)
Happy WW! mine is here check it out if you have time..;)
Thats the same in here a lot of snow.
My WW is not up yet, But I wanted to let you know I tagged you! Hope you can play. (check 1 post back in my blog for info)
<3, Amy
Congratulations on the snow you wanted. The pictures are awesome. Enjoy the snow and WW. :)
I miss snow. Not that I want to live in it again, but I would like to visit it! That last shot is beautiful.
Happy WW
Are you still there? I have been thinking of you. We went to the temple today so I put in your family's name.
Happy WW! Great photos...
My WW meme influenced by Oscar nominee Ruby Dee.
peace, Villager
Nice place to grow up, it looks like to me.
SJR
The Pink FLamingo
http://thepinkflamingo.blogharbor.com/blog
Bring some of that snow home with you!!!
Happy day! The last photo, especially, is beautiful!
I love these pretty photos of snow! It does not snow where I live...
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