Why I Hated "Welcome to Holland"

Note the past tense here -- "hated."  I don't hate it anymore.  I don't mean to offend anyone who gets a great deal of comfort from that story.  I am willing to bet there are folks like me though, who were very turned off by it.  If you're wondering what the heck I'm talking about, here's a copy of it: 
http://www.our-kids.org/Archives/Holland.html

Within a week of my boys' diagnosis, someone brought me that story.  I just hated it from beginning to end.  I didn't want to go to Holland or Italy.  I wasn't that much of a traveller.  I just wanted to stay at home and bury my head under my pillow.  I thought Welcome to Beirut described how I felt about this whole situation much better.

I have two Dutch children and one Italian (translation -- two special needs, and one typically developing).  I can't live full-time in either country; I have to travel back and forth.  In Italy, my two Dutch children are overwhelmed and have a very tough time.  It's big, crowded, loud, and full of people who don't speak their language.  Holland, on the other hand, is very child-friendly so my little Italian child has a good time there, usually.  But it's slower-paced and less exciting than Italy and the older she gets, the more bored she is with Holland.

We have all gotten used to travelling, though.  We are finding ways to be comfortable in both Holland and Italy and to see the beauty in both places.  We are working on educating the Italians on what the Dutch people are like, because they aren't going to stay in Holland.  They are going to visit Italy frequently, and Italy just better get used to it~ because in the end we are all humans, who have to share this world with each other peacefully and with acceptance for other cultures.

And now, I'm stepping off my soapbox.  Thanks for listening.