Celebrating Holland

I stumbled across this writing today, and I really wanted to share it with you all here.  You may remember my post, Welcome to Holland.  I wrote it when Beckett was turning one year old, and life was pretty crazy.  There was a lot of unknown, and things were scary.  I mean, the unknown really is always pretty scary. If you haven't read the blogpost, you can catch it here. 

It was based on the poem/essay, Welcome to Holland, by Emily Perl Kingsley.

Today, almost 2 years later, I read this.  And I thought it was very well written.  We still don't know where we are...where we belong exactly.  But I liked this.  Slowly, things are becoming "normal" for us.  We are getting more comfortable with this wonderful and challenging life that God has blessed us with.  So I had to share this with you--

CELEBRATING HOLLAND - I'M HOME

By Cathy Anthony

 I have been in Holland for over a decade now. It has become home. I have had time to

catch my breath, to settle and adjust, to accept something different than I'd planned.

I reflect back on those years of past when I had first landed in Holland. I remember

clearly my shock, my fear, my anger, the pain and uncertainty. In those first few years,

I tried to get back to Italy as planned, but Holland was where I was to stay. Today, I can

say how far I have come on this unexpected journey. I have learned so much more. But,

this too has been a journey of time.

 

I worked hard. I bought new guidebooks. I learned a new language and I slowly found

my way around this new land. I have met others whose plans had changed like mine,

and who could share my experience. We supported one another and some have become

very special friends.

 

Some of these fellow travelers had been in Holland longer than I and were seasoned

guides, assisting me along the way. Many have encouraged me. Many have taught me to

open my eyes to the wonder and gifts to behold in this new land. I have discovered a

community of caring. Holland wasn't so bad.

 

I think that Holland is used to wayward travelers like me and grew to become a land of

hospitality, reaching out to welcome, to assist and to support newcomers like me in this

new land. Over the years, I've wondered what life would have been like if I'd landed in

Italy as planned. Would life have been easier? Would it have been as rewarding? Would

I have learned some of the important lessons I hold today?

 

Sure, this journey has been more challenging and at times I would (and still do) stomp

my feet and cry out in frustration and protest. And, yes, Holland is slower paced than

Italy and less flashy than Italy, but this too has been an unexpected gift. I have learned

to slow down in ways too and look closer at things, with a new appreciation for the

remarkable beauty of Holland with its tulips, windmills and Rembrandts.

 

I have come to love Holland and call it Home.

 

I have become a world traveler and discovered that it doesn't matter where you land.

What's more important is what you make of your journey and how you see and enjoy

the very special, the very lovely, things that Holland, or any land, has to offer.

Yes, over a decade ago I landed in a place I hadn't planned. Yet I am thankful, for this

destination has been richer than I could have imagined!

Cathy Anthony is a parent, advocate and presently the executive director of the Family

Support Institute in Vancouver.