Sunshine

February 01, 2009

Sunshine

Today was absolutely beautiful. 60 degrees and sunny. We took the kids (and my parents who were down visiting for the weekend) to our favorite playground. It was designed especially for kids with special needs - Clemijontri. Waverly & Oliver had a ball running around. Wavey especially loved the swings. We also took a walk this afternoon on a local walking path. It was so nice to be outside and get a little taste of spring.

Matt and I were able to get out by ourselves both Friday and Saturday night. (Thanks to grandparents!) It was nice to get a break. Last night we went into DC. A favorite restaurant of ours in London opened a location here. We were feeling a little nostalgic and so we ventured down. It was really good. (For you locals, check out Nando's near Gallery Place.) We spent a lot of time talking about our lives. Never would we have imagined ourselves here.

Comments

Anonymous said…

Great news that you guys could get out together and enjoy each other. I think about you and your family almost every day. Keep your head up - miracles happen!

February 1, 2009 at 10:14 PM

Jenkins said…

It is so great that you and Matt could get out! Time that I am sure you needed.
I love that park, we go there often. It is fantastic! We are fans of the special swings.
Praying for you!

February 2, 2009 at 3:34 PM

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.