Celebrating Holland-I'm Home

Celebrating Holland- I'm Home
By Cathy Anthony
(my follow-up to the original \Welcome to Holland\ by Emily Perl Kingsley)
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, BC (www.vcn.bc.ca/bcacl/fsi.htm)