You never know when it's the last one

[klmall]

It hurts to read about everyone's losses. I'm sorry we don't always make the best of our time with our family and glad when we do but it's a struggle.

It's so hard to figure out the balance between saving money for your future and taking those trips with your loved ones. I'm at that age where that distant retirement is actually now and with the economy what it is, planning for ourselves and yet enjoying life now is very hard to figure out.

My Mom is 83 and quite difficult to get along with and as much as I love her she seems to have slipped into a constant hypochondria. Compared to the active, thriving, talented poetry-writing social whiz she was just three years ago she is so difficult. She too has mild Parkinson's, is taking an anti-depressant, has umpteen mild medical problems or at least thinks she does.

It seems that once a month her boyfriend is calling to tell me she is in the hospital again; 90% of the time it is a false alarm, thank goodness. The three of us who live within 2 hours of her do give her lots of visits and calls.

After many refusals to ever go back to WDW; just last week she mentioned that she might be able to handle a very short trip. Well, of the 5 children I am the only one who takes trips there and we will not be taking her on any trip with us for a number of reasons. So I will have to discuss this topic 'gently' with her when she next brings it up.

I love her but she also worries me greatly, and can drive me nuts! And I will spare you the family stories of her boyfriend and how she almost married him on a whim after surgery last year!

 

[minniebeth]

Disney has brought me some of the best memories and people in my life.

Me too!

PeterPan09, to you, my mom passed away a year ago this week and she had Parkinson's. It's wonderful to love and cherish the father you still have, but it's ok to grieve the small losses of how he used to be along the way. I always felt so sad about the changes and never felt like anyone understood my sadness, even though we still had my mom at the time. I was always very grateful for that.

My mom took me to WDW for the first time when I was 7 when my dad passed away and Disney became that magical place for me where all was right with the world. It still is. My mom had always wanted to go back with us and I so wanted to take her, but as close as we would get to planning and going, she was never really up for it, so I grieve that it never happened.

Thank you for your gentle reminder to cherish each experience as if it's the last~

 

[Art 1]

This is why I love this place. Thank you all for the support-feels like a warm hug.

It must be a tough time, hope it all works out.

 

[DisTeach1]

This post is why the latest Disney commercials have me 'tearing' up all the time. When the commercials show that little girl running, and it says something like "there are only so many mountains, so many moments". I could just cry.

My son is a senior, my mom 77. We have taken 10 WDW trips, and we said last year was the last. It's too much for my mom, and my son will be in college.


So sad....My husband I will still go, but I know my Mom won't, and it won't be the same when my son is an adult.

 

[dngnb8]

We're going through an interesting season in our family. My father was diagnosed with Parkinson's about 12 years ago, but in the last year or so the decline has been quite rapid. Mom and I just confirmed the reality that there will be no more visits to the mouse with Dad. It's just too much for him anymore, he doesn't like to leave the house at all, let alone stay overnight away. If we had gone ahead with the annual birthday/Christmas trip, all of us would have been miserable. It's the end of a long history of Disney trips as a family, that began all the way back in 1972.

Why am I telling you all this? Partly to vent, but also to implore you to value every single moment because you just don't know what's going to happen around the bend. I'm blessed to have had over 40 wonderful years with my father, and he is still here and other than the Parkinson's is still healthy. I'm glad I live close enough to visit him every week, and share his company. I could be grieving the loss of the man he was, but instead I'm choosing to be thankful for what I had, and what I still have.

So, when you go on your Disney trip this year or next year or whenever you do it, slow down, look around and cherish it. Any number of things could happen to make it the last one, or the only one with the people you're with.

I know what you mean. Im not sure if your Dad is the Mouse fan, or if it is you, or maybe all of you. If he is a Disneyphile, like most of us here, I suggest investing in some DVDs. There are many DVDs out there that talk about DLR and WDW. While, it isnt like being there, it does allow ones memories to flow like the waters over Niagra.

I keep returning to DLR, much to my wifes chagrin. Ive been over 100 times and my first visit was 1965. That is me on the lap of my Aunt

The wife just isnt into it like DD14 and I. Im grateful DD14 is as much a nut for DLR as I am.

People always complain to me, Disney costs soooooo much.

I wont spend that
I always answer,
How much are good memories worth?

And that is the key OP. You and your family have all the memories, the pictures, videos of all your trips. That is why we keep going. We remember the fun, the family, the love we all have for each other. There is something, dare I say, magical about DLR. It stays with you forever.

I hope things work out for you and yours, and I thank you for taking a moment to remind us all why DLR exists. Because Walt felt there should be an amusement enterprise that the whole family could enjoy. Could anyone have imagined it would be such a part of our families?