Chapter 26: My first DIS-Meet
I rushed outside and practically ran over them in my excitement! Tracy and I had “talked” back and forth for some time as we were planning our trips; it was an odd feeling… meeting someone you already felt you knew and loved!
Ed, AR, and the kids were still eating inside, so we went back in and gathered around our table in the back. I was so glad that Tracy had shared in her report that Bill’s strong hand was his left one (and even gladder that my hubby had
actually been
listening to me when I mentioned it to him!) Ed would have naturally stuck out his right hand to shake Bill’s and it probably would have felt awkward for both of them. *Sorry, for any readers who are a little confused: Bill has cerebral palsy.
The only real concern I had about my kids meeting Bill was with Billy. Tricia was old enough and, for want of a better word,
savvy enough, not to be put off by someone in a wheelchair but Billy!
I knew how he loved toys that had buttons and switches…I envisioned him coming up to Bill and pressing
all the buttons on his electric chair at once, sending him shooting across the room backwards or something!
No, I’m serious!! Either that, or he might spill water on the controls and short-circuit it!
I kept a watchful eye on my son…I could see he was looking at Bill’s chair like it was a really cool toy (or perhaps just another ride at Disney!) Thankfully, he did not get the chance to do any damage!
Tracy and Me:
Bill with my family:
Bill "squared"!:
My gang was still eating, but the dining room was not crowded at all, so we just stayed where we were. We exchanged little gifts, talked about our respective trips thus far, and took a few pictures.
It seemed that all too soon, Bill and Tracy had to take off so they could check in for their ADR. We walked them up the steeply sloped ramp (thank goodness there were handrails on either side, because Aunt Rae was so tired she practically had to pull herself up the hall!)
You know, Bill’s chair really
was a cool toy! That thing has some gitty-up! I admired how easily he maneuvered himself up the ramp and around the corners. Tracy and I talked and talked like we had known each other for years… I was sorry that we had to part. We arrived at the WCC, made tentative plans to meet after their dinner if possible, then waved good-bye.
Back again we went under the covered walkway to the Villas side, and once more the kids rang the bells in front of the arcade. (No wonder its called Buttons and Bells!)
I can’t imagine how many hundreds of times those two bells get rung each day!
We ambled down the hallway to our ground-floor villa and Aunt Rae was dismayed to find that her key card to the studio, which she was sharing with Tricia, would not open the door.
She was very frustrated with this, more so than I would have expected.
“Just come in our door,” Ed told her, “and go through the living room.” Its not like we kept the connecting door closed or anything. It just didn’t seem like a big deal, but she was visibly upset.
Oh well. We all commenced with our pre-planned after dinner chill-out. I puttered around…watched some TV with Ed…did some laundry (soooo nice having the stackable washer/dryer right there in the villa!) AR announced that she was going in for a shower. The kids got into their jammies and Tricia read while Billy watched a DVD. It was really nice to be “home” early.
My cell rang; Tracy and Bill were done eating and wanted to know if we were up for extending our DIS-meet. I asked Aunt Rae if she would mind if Ed and I went downstairs to hang out with them for a while instead of asking them over to the villa. Since she was already in her pajamas and robe, I figured she would rather we went downstairs. After tucking the kids in bed, Ed and I went downstairs to meet the other couple.
At first, we thought we would go out by the pool and get a drink at the
Trout Pass Pool Bar, but upon arriving at the bar, we realized that it had closed. (Kind of early, wasn’t it? It was only about 9:30!) Oh well, we decided to scope out the
Iron Spike Room at the Villas. The Iron Spike Room is a cozy public area just off the main Villas entrance. Its done up in an old-time railroad motif and is filled with cozy seating, game tables, and a fireplace.
I’m kicking myself for not taking any pictures, because it is really quaint and beautiful. But I had been acting as group photographer all day long and I guess I just wanted to hang out and enjoy the company of Tracy and Bill. We enjoyed the luxury of having the room all to ourselves and I noted that it was much easier to understand Bill’s speech without all the noise that had surrounded us in Roaring Fork and in the vast Wilderness Lodge lobby.
The four of us spent over an hour just talking, talking, talking. It was a nice break to be able to have some “adults-only” time. But, all good things must come to an end. It was nearing 11:00 and I was stifling my yawns very unsuccessfully. Reluctantly, we walked them to the bus stop and waited for a bus for Downtown Disney to arrive. It was still rather mild outside, even at the late hour. November is nice in Florida!
Finally a DD bus arrived and we were waving good-bye!
Ed and I walked back inside and I felt so happy that we had been able to enjoy such a pleasant evening.
Back at the villa, however, I was surprised to find the light on in Aunt Rae and Tricia’s room. The kids were asleep (Tricia on the pull-out bed in the studio and Billy on the pull-out in the living room), but Aunt Rae was sitting straight up in her bed when I peeked in.
“Aunt Rae, what are you doing up? I thought you would be sound asleep by now,” I said. “Well, how could I sleep when I had to watch the children?!” she replied. Uh-oh.
I explained to her that I hadn’t expected her to stay up and wait for us to return, but I guess she took her “babysitting” responsibilities very seriously and would not allow herself to turn out the light and go to bed. I felt bad and apologized. I hadn’t really thought of her staying with the kids as babysitting them – Tricia was almost twelve at the time and would call us on her cell phone if we needed to come back to the room for any reason, and we were just down the hall.
Nevertheless, I realized in retrospect that Aunt Rae may have felt put upon and I didn’t want her to think that we were taking her for granted. Ed and I turned in for the night and I told him that I had made up my mind that when we had our “Mom & Dad Only” dinner at
Artist Point later that week, we would have the kids go to the supervised kid’s program at the Lodge, the
Cub's Den, instead of asking Aunt Rae to watch them. She was getting much, much more stressed out this trip than she had last year. I didn’t want to push it. Ed agreed and we settled in to get some shut-eye.
Tomorrow would be another early day at the
Magic Kingdom!! 
. 
.
We were really in an awkward position now: we couldnt move quickly if she insisted upon walking, but we had to respect her decision to do so. And either way, she was beginning to fret about being a burden.
Well, at least you got your fiber!
I am glad everything is fine with the family. Was Ed bummed because he did not get to do the 1/2 marathon this year? I am thinking of training for next years 1/2 marathon. 
