I have never done a trip report. No need, we have never had a trip before. I have decided to do a trip report of our Feb 2009 trip. You will see why I didnt feel like doing it before now as the story unfolds.
The first installment will be picture free. I dont have as many pictures as I would have liked (more on that later) and I just want to get the first installment written without having to tackle learning how to post pictures. I promise that I will post some pictures in upcoming instalments.
The title is It all started with a whopping price error Thats not really true. It started much earlier. I would like to start at the beginning but I am not sure where that is so please forgive me if I jump around a little bit.
First of all the crew: there is me, Mama 43, Dada 46, DS turning 16 at the world, DD 9
One sunny Saturday morning when DS was about 4 years old Dada and he were talking over breakfast and somehow the conversation turned to Disney World, DS did not know that such a place existed and sat rapturously listening to Dada tell him how much fun it was and all the things he could recall from his sketchy memories of his 2 day trip to MK and Epcot in 1988.
Then it happened. Just like a car accident everything was in slow motion. It seemed like I should be able to stop it but for some reason I was paralyzed. I watched Dadas lips moving the words were coming out. I wanted to stop them. I tried to say something but somehow I was mute. We are going to take you there someday. DSs face lit up with joy. All I could do was temper it by saying. It is very expensive to go there so we will not be going for a few years.
You see waaayyy back when I was a kid my father told me that we were going to take a trip across Canada. I was excited!! We grew up in a time and place where if you got in the car to travel 30 minutes to spend the day at the beach it was a BIG FREAKIN DEAL. I couldnt wait to tell my friends. What I didnt know was the difference between plans and dreams. This was a dream, one that was never fulfilled. I swore when I had kids I wouldnt make any promises I couldnt keep. Dont get me wrong I dont bear any ill will toward my Father for this. He didnt know I would take it so seriously. I was more of a note to self, kids take these things seriously, be very VERY careful kind of moment.
To borrow a phrase from Zzub, I am economically disciplined. What does that mean? It means that I dont buy things on credit card. I dont buy designer when Old Navy will do. When I go to the grocery store I buy whatever is on sale and plenty of it so that I have enough to last until the next sale. Do I use coupons? Why yes I do and am proud of it. In short I try to stretch my dollars as far as I can and above all else I dont spend money I dont have. I have been living this way long long before it became fashionable. Problem with a trip to Disney is we dont have the money!
Worse, I dont foresee having the money any time soon. At that point we had a vague notion that we would be adding to the family. I had just started a new career. As a newbie without experience my salary was paltry. My salary paid the child care costs, my meagre work wardrobe and transportation (bus). What was left over afterwards was laughable. But I was working hard and learning and I knew that it was only a matter of time until I started making better money.
None of this matters. The words were uttered. The wheels were set in motion. No matter how long it took, we would one day go to Disney World.
So the years pass. We welcome DD into the world. I am making better money but I now have to pay double the childcare so still I am not seeing much more. More years pass and it is decided that since DS is a teen it will have to be 2008 or 2009. In 2008 we decide that we can swing it financially. DH and I (mostly me) excitedly start planning the trip.
Before I book anything we get the news that my Mother will need major surgery. Surgery is scheduled for early December 2007. She will need to spend a few weeks (turned into more than a month) in hospital. In total it will take about 6 months to recover. There is no way I am planning a trip now. My father is older now and very hard of hearing and like many men of that era, completely useless around the house. On top of this I have only one sibling; he is disabled still living at home with my parents. It will fall on me to keep their household as well as my own running. At the same time I will be taking care of my mothers needs and be the primary family contact for her care at the hospital. On top of this it is Christmas. Santa has to come no matter how busy he is
As if this were not enough the powerful drugs that they are giving Mom for pain is messing with her mind. She is very anxious and my normally cool calm and collected Mother is highly agitated when I am not there. We fear on several occasions that she will begin to rip out tubes and demand to be discharged. When I am there she feels safe and is calm. Once she is calm she sleeps, since she was too anxious to let herself sleep when I wasnt there. Somehow we both make it through all of this. My enthusiasm for planning a Disney trip did not
Up next: The WHOPPING online price error sends my Disney enthusiasm SOARIN!!!!
PS. If you would like to hear more could you please post a reply. I feel like I need the encouragement.
The first installment will be picture free. I dont have as many pictures as I would have liked (more on that later) and I just want to get the first installment written without having to tackle learning how to post pictures. I promise that I will post some pictures in upcoming instalments.
The title is It all started with a whopping price error Thats not really true. It started much earlier. I would like to start at the beginning but I am not sure where that is so please forgive me if I jump around a little bit.
First of all the crew: there is me, Mama 43, Dada 46, DS turning 16 at the world, DD 9
One sunny Saturday morning when DS was about 4 years old Dada and he were talking over breakfast and somehow the conversation turned to Disney World, DS did not know that such a place existed and sat rapturously listening to Dada tell him how much fun it was and all the things he could recall from his sketchy memories of his 2 day trip to MK and Epcot in 1988.
Then it happened. Just like a car accident everything was in slow motion. It seemed like I should be able to stop it but for some reason I was paralyzed. I watched Dadas lips moving the words were coming out. I wanted to stop them. I tried to say something but somehow I was mute. We are going to take you there someday. DSs face lit up with joy. All I could do was temper it by saying. It is very expensive to go there so we will not be going for a few years.
You see waaayyy back when I was a kid my father told me that we were going to take a trip across Canada. I was excited!! We grew up in a time and place where if you got in the car to travel 30 minutes to spend the day at the beach it was a BIG FREAKIN DEAL. I couldnt wait to tell my friends. What I didnt know was the difference between plans and dreams. This was a dream, one that was never fulfilled. I swore when I had kids I wouldnt make any promises I couldnt keep. Dont get me wrong I dont bear any ill will toward my Father for this. He didnt know I would take it so seriously. I was more of a note to self, kids take these things seriously, be very VERY careful kind of moment.
To borrow a phrase from Zzub, I am economically disciplined. What does that mean? It means that I dont buy things on credit card. I dont buy designer when Old Navy will do. When I go to the grocery store I buy whatever is on sale and plenty of it so that I have enough to last until the next sale. Do I use coupons? Why yes I do and am proud of it. In short I try to stretch my dollars as far as I can and above all else I dont spend money I dont have. I have been living this way long long before it became fashionable. Problem with a trip to Disney is we dont have the money!
Worse, I dont foresee having the money any time soon. At that point we had a vague notion that we would be adding to the family. I had just started a new career. As a newbie without experience my salary was paltry. My salary paid the child care costs, my meagre work wardrobe and transportation (bus). What was left over afterwards was laughable. But I was working hard and learning and I knew that it was only a matter of time until I started making better money.
None of this matters. The words were uttered. The wheels were set in motion. No matter how long it took, we would one day go to Disney World.
So the years pass. We welcome DD into the world. I am making better money but I now have to pay double the childcare so still I am not seeing much more. More years pass and it is decided that since DS is a teen it will have to be 2008 or 2009. In 2008 we decide that we can swing it financially. DH and I (mostly me) excitedly start planning the trip.
Before I book anything we get the news that my Mother will need major surgery. Surgery is scheduled for early December 2007. She will need to spend a few weeks (turned into more than a month) in hospital. In total it will take about 6 months to recover. There is no way I am planning a trip now. My father is older now and very hard of hearing and like many men of that era, completely useless around the house. On top of this I have only one sibling; he is disabled still living at home with my parents. It will fall on me to keep their household as well as my own running. At the same time I will be taking care of my mothers needs and be the primary family contact for her care at the hospital. On top of this it is Christmas. Santa has to come no matter how busy he is
As if this were not enough the powerful drugs that they are giving Mom for pain is messing with her mind. She is very anxious and my normally cool calm and collected Mother is highly agitated when I am not there. We fear on several occasions that she will begin to rip out tubes and demand to be discharged. When I am there she feels safe and is calm. Once she is calm she sleeps, since she was too anxious to let herself sleep when I wasnt there. Somehow we both make it through all of this. My enthusiasm for planning a Disney trip did not
Up next: The WHOPPING online price error sends my Disney enthusiasm SOARIN!!!!
PS. If you would like to hear more could you please post a reply. I feel like I need the encouragement.
Stay tuned!
