What a fabulous weekend ...... I was asked by Hope House Childrens Hospice to be the after dinner speaker at thier Annual Charity Ball at the Grosvenor Hotel in Chester this last weekend ... what a priveledge and an honour.
I was nervous as you would expect ,but also it was a chance to speak to people and put across how it feels as a parent to be thrust into a job you have no training for or realisation of the task you are about to underake,my chosen profession on leaving school was a hair stylist .. not a nurse, but I had to learn and very fast to be able to perform medical procedures to my child that most district nurses would not normally undertake.
The reception from my audiance was amazing and heart warming, I was humbled by the people who spoke to me after saying how moved they were by my experience ,below I have written a poem that I incorporated into my speech, I think it puts across perfectly what I was trying to achieve on Saturday night.
A DIFFERENT PLACE
WHEN YOUR GOING TO HAVE A BABY,IT`S LIKE PLANNING A FABULOUS HOLIDAY TRIP TO ITALY! YOU BUY A BUNCH OF GUIDE BOOKS AND MAKE WONDERFUL PLANS!
THE COLISEUM, THE MICHELANGELO`S DAVID, THE GONDOLAS IN VENICE.
YOU MAY LEARN SOME HANDY PHRASES IN ITALIAN….IT`S ALL VERY EXCITING . AFTER MONTHS OF ANTICIPATION THE DAY FINALY ARRIVES,YOU PACK YOUR BAG AND OFF YOU GO!
SEVERAL HOURS LATER THE STEWARDESS COMES AND SAYS “WELCOME TO HOLLAND “HOLLAND ? YOU SAY ..WHAT DO YOU MEAN HOLLAND ? I SIGNED UP FOR ITALY ,I`M SUPPOSED TO BE IN ITALY ,ALL MY LIFE I`VE DREAMED OF GOING TO ITALY!
BUT THERES BEEN A CHANGE IN THE FLIGHT PLAN,THEY`VE LANDED IN ITALY AND THERE YOU MUST STAY.
THE IMPORTANT THING IS THEY HAVEN`T TAKEN YOU TO SOME HORRID DISGUSTING PLACE FULL OF FAMINE AND DISEASE ,IT`S JUST A DIFFERENT PLACE.
SO YOU MUST GO AND BUY NEW GUIDE BOOKS, AND YOU MUST LEARN A WHOLE NEW LANGUAGE. YOU WILL MEET A WHOLE NEW GROUP OF PEOPLE YOU WOULD NEVER HAVE MET. 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 CATCH YOUR BREATH, YOU LOOK AROUND …AND YOU BEGIN TO NOTICE THAT HOLLAND HAS WINDMILLS ..HOLLAND HAS TULIPS ..HOLLAND EVEN HAS REMBRANTS.
BUT EVERYONE IS BUSY COMING AND GOING TO ITALY AND THEY`RE ALL BRAGGING ABOUT WHAT A WONDERFUL TIME THEY HAD THERE.
FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE YOU WILL SAY ..YES ! THAT’S WHERE I WAS SUPPOSED TO GO, THAT’S WHAT I`D PLANNED! AND THE PAIN OF THAT WILL NEVER ,EVER GO AWAY.. BECAUSE THE LOSS OF THAT DREAM IS A VERY SIGNIFICANT LOSS.
What a lovely way to explain your experiences being mum of very special Little Miss Pretty :) xx
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