Once I was the hero. The man who could do everything. If there
was a need for a hug, brute strength, a listening ear or a
playmate, there was a quick cry of, "Papaaaaaa, where are
youeee?"
This status, dear reader, came to an abrupt end!
The last mile
We are greatly looking forward to the vacations. One more week of foreign work and on our national holiday the out of office will be set. The busyness at work is enormous: many projects, several colleagues already on leave, call on duty for a week.... These are just some of the tasks that make the days fly.
Finally on the way to Ella-Marie
Wednesday night. It was one of those days where work was done from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Due to circumstances, lunch was consumed at the computer. It had been from Monday morning since I was able to get a hug from Ella-Marie. Brief video calls the days before let me know that she was enjoying herself very hard. With a big smile, she told me about the new supervisors (vacation workers), the singing, the drawings, the outings, .... Everything there seemed top notch! And yet sometimes I was told that she misses me a little.
Since it was already a little late, dinner was consumed very quickly. Finally, I could be on my way to Ella-Marie!
Quiet cruising by car
The road to Pulderbos is a very pleasant one. The windows and roof of the car open and Spotify launches a mix of BBQ Lounge and Summer Vibes. The adaptive cruise control keeps my police pals from sending a bill this time, and the potential traffic jams stay out due to the vacation and the later hour of departure.
How I look forward to an enthusiastic Ella-Marie! Every time I arrive I hear a loud "Papaaaa" and a wheelchair in 2nd gear rides up to me. Again, I cannot wait for that sweet hug and the thousands of stories of the visit to the zoo, the exercises at the physiotherapist and the progress at the logo and ergo.
Pulderbos
Pulderbos did not steal its name. Through some small roads, you
come to a road between 2 large meadows. In the distance you can see
a large building surrounded by a beautiful forest. It invites to
walk a lot, enjoy nature and unwind. After parking, I walk towards
the stairs and smoothly hop to the front door.
The somewhat dark entrance hall is already deserted and the already
several times walked path takes me towards the living group. In the
distance I can already hear a guitar and a familiar voice singing
songs of Camille. I am now sure that Ella-Marie is going to be so
happy to see me!
What. An. Enthusiasm!
I walk to the kitchen and see Ella-Marie singing. Close to her sits a 23-year-old young adonis, the living group's vacation supervisor. With his perfect voice and accompanying guitar, he provides a mini-concert you can only appreciate. Ella-Marie is hanging on his every word. She hears me enter and sees me. I am waiting with open arms for my enthusiastic daughter.
"Hi Dad, I'm singing. You go wait in the room."
My father's heart, my ego, my everything... on the floor. After 3 songs on a guitar already moved as man-number-1 in her life!
This weekend it should be going better. Then I am the only man
and can play with Ella-Marie
... but here I am writing my text and dear schoolmate Arne is
sitting in the couch talking to my daughter.
So happy
Dear reader, fear not :-). This piece of satire was only written to indicate that Ella-Marie is growing. Growing as a girl, growing physically, growing socially ... . And she now has the opportunity to continue to develop socially, cognitively and motorically.
The choice of surgery was not easy, but so far it appears to be the right choice!