The Subway

I recently took a trip to Boston with the kids to visit The New England Aquarium. We decided to take the train into the city and Eliza and Henry really enjoyed that. A really nice tip is to pay the extra $8.00 per ticket to upgrade to Amtrak business class. This allows more room and it's own bathroom as well as easy access to the food concierge . When we arrived in North Station I had to make a decision about how to get over to the Aquarium. Taxi or Subway. It had been years since I had been on the subway but had known it well in my early years and thought the kids would love it. I had been sure to wear a backpack so my hands were free to hold onto Eliza and Henry. Henry is a highly energetic 5 year old that I could lose in a moment and Eliza is a child that requires one to one assistance for safety reasons. As the years progress she seems to get quicker and quicker and I have had more than one heart stopping occasion of losing site of her for a moment. We entered the subway and the kids eyes were as big as saucers , it was awesome!! The people, the smells, the sounds and the energy were so new to them and they took it all in. I found my grip on them getting firmer and firmer and I had wondered if I was cutting off the circulation to their beautiful little hands. I realized that things were different in the subways now when I went to put my money in for tokens. There were ATM looking machines everywhere and I was not sure what I needed to do. Knowing that I could not let go of either child, I proceeded to walk over to the security window and swung my leg up in the air and knocked on the glass with my foot, quite an image, I know. Good thing we didn't all fall over. Anyway, a very nice women came out and walked me through the procedure and away we went. As we stood waiting for the T to arrive I watched the kids reactions to the new things that they were experiencing. The saxophone player, the homeless man fast asleep in the corner, the lover's displaying their affections for each other. I was so delighted that Henry did not choose at that moment to ask me the why's of everyone's behaviors and instead just sat and took it all in. Finally, the train arrived and we hoped in and away we went and I felt such success in giving my kids a new experience that ultimately turned out to be their favorite part of our trip to Boston.

Our beautiful and messy lives

Tuesday was such an exciting day for me. As I watched the number of people join our mission here at SpecialGlobe my heart soared. It was so amazing to have such tremendous validation on what we are working to achieve. Through the many emails and calls that I have received from parents, travel industry professionals and media I was both relieved and ecstatic that you seemed as excited about SpecialGlobe as I am. As one big family, we are going to ignite change for these families and for the travel industry. I am so proud to be a part of it and I am also so glad to have you all right there with me by my side. Thank You!!

Of course, as any parent will understand even the best laid plans can go awry. As Tuesday wore on, it was time for me to pick up Eliza and Henry from School. When I arrived at the school, many of the teachers congratulated me and expressed their excitement for SpecialGlobe. It felt so wonderful  to finally be able to share what I have been working on for so many months with such important people to me and my family. It was at that moment when I saw my beautiful Eliza walking down the hallway toward me. She looked awful! She looked completely wiped out. My poor little love bug! When I got her home she had a 103.7 temp and it was time for me to take my CEO of SpecialGlobe hat off and put my Eliza's mommy hat on.

As I found myself literally elbow deep in sick on this biggest of days for me, I had to smile to myself because it was a reminder that life is both messy and wonderful and with every beautiful moment there are challenges too and that's really what SpecialGlobe is all about. It's about creating these beautiful moments for their entire family and as any parent knows there will be challenges along the journey but I promise the beautiful moments will create family memories that will last a lifetime.

SpecialGlobe Trailer Final Fini

A message from our founder

Welcome to SpecialGlobe!! I am truly amazed that you are here. I am truly amazed that SpecialGlobe is here. I am truly amazed that together we are going to change the lives of million of families.

I was incredibly fortunate as a child and young adult to be able to travel around the world. Those experiences have had a profound affect on who I am today and how I look at the world. I always knew that when I had children of my own that I would want to give them those same experiences. Giving my children those same experiences became a little more difficult when at the age of one, my daughter Eliza was diagnosed with atypical Rett syndrome. The doctors told me that she would never walk or talk. It was, as many mother's and father's who have heard those same words know, devastating. Life lost it's color for a moment but only for a moment as I made a decision right there and then to never let that diagnosis define my daughter or the life that she would live. I am so fortunate that today at the age of 7, Eliza has far surpassed those early expectations. She joins her friends on the soccer field, she swims whenever she has a chance and she even ran a 1.2 mile run to raise money for Rett Syndrome this last fall. She requires one to one assistance but she talks more and more each day and she not only walks but she runs!

The story of how SpecialGlobe came into existence is a magical one. It all began June 5^th when I was awoken in the night to a voice that said “SpecialGlobe”. It woke me from a sound sleep and I sat awake for a few hours wondering what SpecialGlobe was. Certainly nothing like that had ever happened to me.I finally fell back to sleep but thought of it again in the morning when I woke. I went downstairs and turned on my computer and proceeded to google “SpecialGlobe”. Nothing came up and so I then went to GoDaddy.com and typed in the domain name and a wonderful and life changing message came across the screen that said you can buy this domain for $11.49. I bought it on the spot.

From there I set out to discover just what SpecialGlobe was. It did not take me very long to put together the pieces of that message I had received that night. It was so natural for me to tie together my extraordinary passion for travel and my personal experience of being a mother to a special needs child. I knew from my own personal experience that there were not a lot of resources out there for parents like me who wanted to travel. Planning a trip would take days of curating information specific to Eliza's needs. There was also always this nagging feeling that I get whenever I take here somewhere. You know that feeling, that feeling that my daughter is bothering the typical people around her. I recently read a beautiful article in Huffington Post titled “Dear Daddy in Seat 16C http://www.huffingtonpost.com/shanell-mouland/dear-daddy-in-seat-16c_b_4585865.html.It is a story of Mother traveling with her 3 year old daughter with Autism on a plane. The mother is writing to a kind man who sat next to her daughter. Apparently her daughter called him Daddy, rubbed his arm, shared her toys with him and ultimately had a complete breakdown on the plane and wanted to get off. All the while this man never got angry or upset. Instead he was kind and communicative and understanding. The mother speaks of her relief of not having received “The Look” from him. For not having to apologize for her daughter's behaviors as she has so many times before. I have been that mother a hundred times,perhaps even a thousand. Eliza is this wonderfully social and loving little being who will hug anyone that crosses her path. She is curious and excitable and I have received that look too many times already. For many parents, the fear of not being welcomed and accepted has forced them to stay at home. I have spoken to many parents through this process and many have said that they are a family divided. While one parent remains home with the special needs child the other takes the remaining siblings on vacations. This is no way to build family memories.

So we set out to create a site that would allow parents the ability to book flights, review hotels, share their experiences and learn from other parents through forums and user generated reviews. We also wanted to develop destination guides that would include comprehensive information about special needs travel. Where to stay, where to eat, what wonderful activities would be available to you that your whole family could enjoy, where are the hospitals, where are the pharmacies, where can I get a beach scooter, where can I get a certified aid that could help my family while on vacation in each of these locales and much much more. It is our intent here at SpecialGlobe to gather any and all information about special needs travel under one roof where you can take your time to review and make decisions about what's right for your family. It is my hope that through this information, SpecialGlobe will allow you the courage and empower you to think beyond what you thought might be possible for your family and thus give you the tools to start building new memories that the whole family will remember and cherish for a lifetime.

I hope you will join me on this mission. I know I can not do it without you. Your voice is so important in this sea of change that we are working to implement around the globe.

Let's start building our passports together!

Meghann Harris

Senior Founder and CEO SpecialGlobe