Several years ago, two of my children had the opportunity to perform Irish dance on a
cruise ship in the Caribbean. It was an opportunity of a lifetime. Our trip included
several stops, including Labadee, on the island of Haiti. Labadee is owned by Royal
Caribbean Cruise Lines, however, the cruise line abruptly omitted the stop from our
itinerary, due to political unrest in Haiti. We were forced to skip a fun filled day at the
beach in favor of an extra day at sea.

Boy, were we bummed! Initially, I awoke feeling disappointed on that extra day, but
suddenly the ship’s captain announced that whales were swimming by the ship. The kids
didn’t find it exciting enough to get out of bed, but I raced down to the main deck and
watched with wonder as the powerful whales plunged in and out of the water. After
breakfast, the dance instructor scheduled an extra dance practice because the cruise
director was so impressed by the dancers that he scheduled an extra performance.
Hmm…what could a girl do with a little free time on her hands? I grabbed a novel,
headed down to the pool area, and ordered a fancy drink. This was something I couldn’t
do at home. After the kids performed, my daughter ran off to have fun with her friends.
I snatched a little one‐on‐one time with my son. We played in the pool, went
rollerblading, and I challenged him in shuffleball. He climbed the rock wall while I
watched. We played all day and ate too much ice cream. We had dinner with the
dancers and squeezed in as many activities as we possibly could until we rolled into bed
exhausted.

If the ship hadn’t changed course, I wouldn’t have relaxed or spent time playing with my
son. I would never have seen the beauty of the whales.

In 1987, Emily Perl Kingsley wrote a poem called, “Welcome to Holland” about the joys
in parenting her son with Down syndrome. It’s about an exciting trip to Italy that gets
unexpectedly re‐routed to Holland. Initially, there is disappointment, but Holland is not
an awful place; it has tulips and windmills.

None of us knows what 2012 will bring for us and our loved ones with mental illness.
Regardless of what course your New Year follows, I encourage you to grab some new
guidebooks, starting with the array of information that NAMI Barrington Area provides
for you. In times of crisis, set your GPS to “re‐route” and take time to enjoy the whales
and the windmills.

“Welcome to Holland” and welcome to NAMI.

Enjoy a touching Youtube version of “Welcome to Holland” by clicking this link