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. Whether you frame it, fold it into a wallet, or simply tape it to the wall, the printable Holland poem remains a lifeline. It validates the loss without abandoning the hope. And sometimes, on the hardest days, that is exactly the map a parent needs.
After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack your bags and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands. The flight attendant comes in and says, “Welcome to Holland.”
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.” printable holland poem
But there’s been a change in the flight plan. They’ve landed in Holland and there you must stay.
And the pain of that will never, ever, ever, ever go away… because the loss of that dream is a very significant loss. But… if you spend your life mourning the
For decades, parents receiving a life-altering diagnosis for their child have been handed a single piece of paper. On it is a short, allegorical poem titled "Welcome to Holland." Despite the rise of digital media, searches for a "printable Holland poem" remain incredibly high—a testament to its enduring role as a tangible source of comfort in moments of crisis. What is the "Welcome to Holland" Poem? Written by Emily Perl Kingsley in 1987, the piece uses a powerful metaphor. Kingsley, whose son has Down syndrome, compares the experience of planning for a child to meticulously planning a trip to Italy —you learn the language, study the maps, and dream of the Colosseum.
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. And sometimes, on the hardest days, that is
When you’re going to have a baby, it’s like planning a fabulous vacation trip – to Italy. You buy a bunch of guidebooks and make wonderful plans. The Coliseum. Michelangelo’s David. The gondolas in Venice. You may learn some handy phrases in Italian. It’s all very exciting.