We Finally Got Out of the House

We Finally Got Out of the House

Waverly was still running a slight fever yesterday, but we had to get out of the house. We went to the Science Museum, where they have a hands on area for younger kids. It was incredibly full with school kids, so Waverly was overwhelmed and just held our hand the entire time. Oliver LOVED the water table and spent almost an hour playing there. Then we went out for lunch and took a long walk through Hyde Park. It rained on and off, but we all needed to get out of the house. Waverly was fine this morning and is off at school. This is her last week at nursery school - the term ends on Friday. She is going to attend group sessions at her therapists' office, because the structure and schedule are good for her.

I am waiting on a call from our doctors at CHoP. Something came up about a genetic test on Waverly. I am very nervous...these calls usually do not go well for us. Here is hoping for good news - or at least no real news.

Comments

Mike and Sarah said…

Praying that your phone call from CHoP is uneventful. Glad you guys finally got out of the house.

July 8, 2008 at 8:42 AM

Welcome to Holland

By Emily Perl Kingsley

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 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 for a while and 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 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.