Welcome to Holland

Bonnie Willford, one of the receptionists at Utah Valley Regional Medical Center where Jesse spent his first two months sent us this story from Emily Pert Kingsley. Bonnie's letter came at a particularly difficult time as we were preparing Jesse to get his bowel surgey done. We had already transferred to Primary Children's in Salt Lake, but she sent this as a message from the staff who were "quiet and hopeful" for Jesse. Bonnie, Thank You for your love and kindness.

Welcome to Holland

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

wonderful plans. The Colliseum, Michelangelo's David, The Gondolas

in Venice. You may learn some hand 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? What do you mean, Holland.

I signed up for Italy. I am supposed to be in Italy.

All of my life, I've dreamed of going to Italy."

But there has been a change in the flight plan.

They've landed in Holland, and there you must stay.

The important thing is they haven't taken you to a horrible,

digusting, filthy place, full of pestilence, famine, and disease.

It's just a different place. So you must go out and buy new

guide boks. And you must learn a whole new language. And you will

meet a whole new group of people you would never have

otherwise met. It's 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. Tulips. Holland even has Rembrandts.

But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy.

They're al bragging about what a wonderful time they had there.

And for the rest of your life, you will say,

"Yes, that's were I was supposed to go. That's what I had planned."

Maybe the pain of that will never go away, because the loss of that dream

is a significant loss. But if you spend your life in mourning the fact

that you didn't get to Italy, you may never be free to

enjoy the very special, the very lovely things of Holland.

Amy and I have been touched by the many people we have met who have also been to Holland. We love Holland. It's a beautiful place. Very close to heaven, I suppose...