Amsterdam International.

Hopefully most of you have read the poem/essay/short ramble called "Welcome to Holland". It's something passed from parent-of-special-needs-child to parent-of-special-needs-child as a way of saying "welcome to our world. Sure, it hurts now, but it does get better".
However, thanks to Twitter, I have been put in touch with some mamas who blog (and consequently have children with special needs) and may I say that my world I'm living in has some of the most compassionate people I've ever met? That's neither here nor there. A mama I just stumbled across today was nominated for a Reader's Choice award. Her blog is here. She's taken Welcome to Holland and put her own spin on it...she's titled it "Amsterdam International". And what a wonder she's done with it. Such raw emotion in those words. Click here to read it.  This woman has just taken everything that I didn't get out of Holland and put it into her own words.

I know this isn't a very well thought out post but I'm having one of those days. The days where everything makes me cry. Even the happy things make me upset (such as driving down the road today and seeing the special needs adults and kids out for a walk with their Buddies). I wish I could write more, I really do. Basically all I have to say is this:

If you know someone who has been placed in Amsterdam, please give them a helping hand if they need it. Just offer it. Let them know it's there. Maybe they need to navigate Amsterdam International on their own. Maybe they want the support. Maybe they don't. Just know that there is no time line for getting out of that airport. It will happen in their own time.

Just today I thought I saw the exit sign. But then, out of nowhere, my feet were kicked out from under me and I was dragged kicking and screaming back to the baggage claim area. I'll get there. We all will. Just give us (me) time.