Beautiful Article: Disney World After The Loss Of A Spouse

[MelissaFromRI]

http://land.allears.net/blogs/allearsteam/2010/01/disney_world_after_the_loss_of.html

I came across this on AllEars and thought it was very touching and could be helpful to others

 

[safetymom]

Speaking from personal experience Disney is the prefect place to go when you are grieving. No one knows your name, no one stops talking when you walk into a room, no whispers behind your back.

Yes it can be very sad but Disney allows you to escape from the world and your grief for a short time.

It was also the perfect place for my kids when their Dad died. They had the weight of the world on their shoulders. I wish I had taken a picture the first time we entered MK. I saw them return to being children for a brief time.

 

[heaven2dc]

What a moving story! I'm so glad he decided to go after all.

I remember our first visit in 1997 after my husband died (we had traveled to Florida via a van that broke down pretty much all the way from Oregon to FL and stopped at the first motel in Kissimmee we could find. Sadly my husband suffered a massive heart attack & died in the motel room on 12/18/94. I was so sad, of course, that he died and left his five kids ages 1-16 but also that he never got to see WDW which he had dreamed of sharing our first visit there.) In 1997 I got to take my oldest 3 kids plus extended family and it was such a bittersweet trip. We are planning a trip this year for all of us plus my new grandson (age 2 now) and even though it's been 15 years since their dad passed away, he will be right there with us seeing their happy faces.

Some people tend to frown upon you if you take a trip soon after losing a loved one but being in a magical place like Disneyworld, you are able to lose yourself among the crowds. Safetymom, my heart goes out to you for losing your husband :hug

 

[PeterPan09]

Wow, what a fantastic article. Disney has been such a huge part of our family and I'll admit that I've wondered how I would cope with trips if a member was no longer here. His advice was wonderful, and I'm thankful that he shared it.

to both of you and my sympathy for your losses.

 

[MomlvsGoofy]

For me Disney was what helped me with the grieving process. We had planned our first trip to DisneyWorld back in April 1987. It was to be me, DS7, DD5 and my mom.
On April 15th my older brother died of a heart attack. You see I had already lost my younger brother to an accident 3 years earlier and we planned this trip to help my mom to just get away from it all and have some fun where no one was watching, it was all about fun.
Our trip was planned for the 30th. Everyone wanted us to cancel the trip and my dad just kept saying to go and get away from it all. It was a hard decision but in the end we decided that is was easier to go then to tell the kids that we would not be able to go.
I have to tell you it was the best decision I ever made. My mom was able to grieve without all of the family watching and trying to help her. She also was able to smile at her first sight of the Castle (a memory she continues to talk about). The best part about it was I was there to see when she laughed and when she cried. It helped us both so much. Needless to say my mom is the biggest Disney freak in our house she just can't get enough of it. It is her happy place forever.

 

[BriarRosie]

Jack, the author of that article, is a friend of mine. Most of the time I've seen him solo, but I feel fortunate to have met his wife in person a couple years ago during one of the Food and Wine trips.

I'll have to let him know that you were touched by his article.

 

[Claudia Kellenberger]

Disney had helped me get through a lot of things, also. My 3 daughters were born in 1976 and 1977 (twins that time), but they were all born premature and died before they were a week old. I didn't go to WDW until 1993. To my surprise, watching all those children did not make me feel sad at all. It really was wonderful. Now I am 56, with no children, and no grandchildren. I have learned that Disney World is also fantastic when going solo. My Husband stays home with our precious cats.
Many years ago, I would never have thought it was possible ... but I have learned to adapt.

Now I need to read that article .....

I just read the article. It was beautiful. I am almost speechless.