I Finally Bit the Bullet!! 
Well,
The Little Mermaid was truly amazing!!
The music... the voices... the costumes... I will have to think up as many adjectives as I can to describe them because "amazing" is not enough!
Anyway, I will post a more detailed "Mini-Report" as soon as I get the pix uploaded on the computer. It poured rain, so I'm hoping the outside ones came out all right!!
But, the big news as far as the PTR is concerned is that I finally worked up the courage to tell Aunt Rae that we were inviting DNiece, Catie, to WDW instead of her.
We were at dinner after the show and naturally, the conversation was peppered with Disney.... I believe I was telling them about the Remy audio-animatronic in Chefs de France... I took a deep breath (and a sip of wine) then leaned across the table to AR and told her, straight out, "We've invited Tricia's cousin, Catie, to come with us this year!"
I waited for a response, but she just sort of nodded and said, "That's nice," so I wondered if she realized exactly what I was saying. Now, I've learned from experience that one must be very specific and very clear when talking with Aunt Rae because she tends to jump to conclusions instead of opening her mouth and clarifying.
A few minutes later, both Ed and Tricia excused themselves from the table and I said, "So, Aunt Rae, how do you feel about us inviting Catie on this trip instead of you?" It was blunt, but necessary. I didn't want any misunderstandings. She chewed a bit and then asked,
"Is that the cousin who's the same age as Tricia?" I told her it was. "Oh, that will be so nice for them to have each other," she replied. Then she added,
"You know, Kathy, I really can't get around like I used to anymore."
It was such a relief to hear her say this! I had been so worried that she would be hurt. She seemed to take the news quite well.
I remarked on this later to Ed and he said, "Well, that's how she acted in public, after she gets home and thinks about it awhile, she'll probably be upset." Thanks, Hon.
So, this morning I gave her a call to see how she was doing... ostensibly because it had been a long day, and with the rain and all, if her arthritis was acting up.
Well, she was fine... she just gushed about how wonderful the show had been... thank you for inviting me.... what a treat to have the car service and not have to walk.... how delicious the food was at dinner.... etc, etc. She sounded positively high!! And she didn't mention the trip at all...
So, I'm thinking that it's as some of you had said back at the start of this PTR.... perhaps the last trip made her realize that she just wasn't able to tolerate it anymore. I feel for her, but ahhhh, I am just so relieved that's over and that it all went well!!
More on the
LM show coming soon....
Kathy
Mom & Dad Only Weekend at the World .... here we come!!
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