First Trip with Mixed Emotions

[adminjedi]

Just sharing what's on my mind:
We leave tomorrow for a trip we started planning 2 years ago. We invited my DB's family and my parents to join us to celebrate their 50th Wedding Anniversary which was June 16th! Happy about that.

Unfortunately, my Dad passed away on June 26th. This was supposed to be a celebration of Mom and Dad's marriage, but instead it will be time away as a family to grieve together, remember good times, and to celebrate my Dad's life.

Mixed Emotions. But I know the timing is ordained, and therefore, it will be filled with blessings.

 

[Mfgs]

I am so sorry to hear about the loss of your father. My dad passed away 2 years ago and there are days when I still just can't believe he is not here with us. I am sure your are still in that shell shocked place, but hopefully your trip will help you all by just being together in your happy place.

 

[DMKEDM]

Our thoughts and prayers are with you.

Hopefully, WDW will bring you the beginning of healing that it brought me. I, too, went to WDW (on a pre-planned trip) just a few days after my Dad's death. It was a very different experience than any other Disney trip I'd taken before or have taken since. But it was good.

I was alone (it was a business trip), and I spent my four days (minus the one for the speech I was giving in Orlando), just walking around the parks and the resorts (I stayed at BLT, but wandered all over WDW). I thought about my Dad, my family, my journey-of-life so far. Somehow, being at Disney for that really helped. I was able to process the sadness, accept "the circle of life."

I didn't come back "all better." I still miss and grieve for my parents (my mother died 12 years ago; my dad 15 months ago), but Disney really did help me get through that initial "raw grief" time....

I hope it works this (totally unexpected) different kind of magic for you, too...

 

[dianeschlicht]

Sorry for your loss, but I agree that this time as a family together will be a good healing time for all. It will also be a time of remembrance. Each new thing you all do together will force a memory of the person who is not there, and you will all find comfort in each other and be able to grieve as a family. I think it will be a good healing time.

 

[bobbiwoz]

My thoughts and prayers are with your family.

 

[nunzia]

Hoping you are comforted by remembering the times you all had. I'm probably as big a Disney fan as I am because of the wonderful DL trips we took starting when I was 7. My Dad died 24 years ago, but I still think of him every day and especially at Disneyland where we had such great times.

 

[jekjones1558]

Blessings to your family. I have been in your shoes and it is tough.

 

[CarolMN]

So sorry for your loss.

 

[mickeysbestfriend]

for your loss. I know how hard it can be. We are gathering next week to have a memorial for my parents. To this point I have not grieved for them...but I know it's coming.....and it won't be easy.

What I am thankful for is that my dad was able to make it to Disney World for my wife and I's wedding three years ago and it was so obvious by the look on his face that he was happy being there and experiencing the magic kingdom and other parks.

He was an architect that worked on two Epcot projects but never got to see the finished product until he came for our wedding. Unfortunately Horizons, one of the projects he worked on was gone (

 

[VrBchJ]

I'm sorry for you loss. This is such a difficult time for you and your family. When my Dad died I could not spend Christmas at home. So we decided to make a family trip to WDW and it really eased the pain of our loss. It seemed to bring us closer together and we shared lots of wonderful memories. I hope your trip brings you some peace and comfort.

 

[twinklebug]

So sorry for your loss.

 

[Doug7856]

Blessings to you on your travels. May your time together be special with great memories of your loved one and the times you have as a family.

 

[FigmentLady]

I am so sorry for your loss. My mom just passed away on the 29th so I understand your pain. I hope the trip gives your family a way to celebrate your fathers life. My thoughts and prayers are with you.

 

[CocosMeme]

I am so sorry for your loss. I had a similar experience 10 years ago. My sister and I had planned a "girls only" cruise to take my Mom to the Cariibbean. My Mom passed away 2 weeks before the trip. We were all so depressed and shocked. When my sister called the travel agent to cancel the trip she suggested we go anyway and use it to get away from the stress of all we had been through. We were able to let my husband go in my Mom's place and we had a ball. It was the best therapy we could have had. We realized while there that my Mom would have wanted us to go and celebrate her life and enjoy being together. She instilled in all of us that "family is everything" and we are all close because of her. I wish you Happy Family time!!

 

[Disney Princess]

I will be thinking of you and praying for you during this time. I'm so sorry to hear about this. My grandmother died years ago on Christmas Eve. We were scheduled to go to WDW on the 28th with the other side of the family. We had the funeral on the 27th and left as scheduled. It was a different trip, but I think my mom so appreciated being away from it all while she was grieving. She had her moments - something at the world would remind her of her mother, and she'd cry and let it out. It was a great time for her to have. It will be a bittersweet trip since your dad was supposed to go, but it will be a wonderful time for your family to spend together. I wish you the best.

 

[Salome]

 

[yopaulie5]

So sorry for your loss

 

[DenLo]

Sorry for your loss of your DF. I hope that you and your family will be able to use this time together as a time to share your memories of your DF and grieve together. Perhaps you can start the healing process too. Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us at this difficult time.

 

[palhockeymomof2]

So sorry for your loss....we had a similar experience 3 years ago...we were scheduled to go on a cruise for my in-laws 50th anniversary......he passed away right before ...my mother-in-law didn't go but insisted our family and my husbands brothers family go....we had fun remembering different things about dad on the trip

 

[Inkmahm]

I am so sorry to hear about the loss of your father. My dad passed away 2 years ago and there are days when I still just can't believe he is not here with us. I am sure your are still in that shell shocked place, but hopefully your trip will help you all by just being together in your happy place.

I know exactly what you mean. My dad died 7 years ago and I still expect to see him/talk to him until I remember that he is gone. It has gotten easier, but I don't think the pain will ever go away.

To the OP, I'm sorry for your loss. It is such a blessing that your parents made it to 50 years! My parents made it to 48 1/2 and my mom was so disappointed they didn't get to 50. It never crossed her mind that they wouldn't because my dad's parents both lived to be almost 90. No one expected him to die from cancer at 69.

I took my parents to WDW twice before my dad was sick and I'm so glad that I did. We have great memories of our time there with him. Now I take my mom as often as we can. She is in a wheelchair and can't do a lot of the rides, but she gets to spend precious time with her grandchildren (the nieces and nephew that we also bring with us.) I see her getting more frail and I know these trips won't last forever. But I enjoy every minute that I can with her both at home and at WDW. Losing one parent was horrible. I can't even imagine the pain when she is gone, too. Just thinking about it brings tears to my eyes.

Enjoy having your mom at WDW with you, bittersweet as it may be. I guarantee you will have some good memories from this trip, as hard as it is likely to be.