Live without Regrets!!

[RachaelRol]

We got some bad news over the weekend, a friend of our family lost one of their 3 year old triplets on Saturday. She had a rare condition unbeknownst to doctors. The wake was today. She was dressed in a Snow White dress. It was thr sadest thing I have been to in my life. They had thier first Disney trip planned for 15 days from today. I don't know if thy are taking the other two girls, I kind of hope they do.

This had me thinking, what's the point? So two days ago I very spontaneously booked a Disney trip from 7/29 to 8/4. I can't beleive I did this. It will be me, DH,DS5, Dniece 16, Dneph12. I think I did this because, why not!!?? Its not the most reponsible thing to do, but not reckless either. We wanted to surprise our son and DN and DN.

The new discount gave us a pretty good rate, POR, hoppers and dining for $2900. I charged it, we NEVER charge vacations and weren't planning a Disney trip this year. I figure it will take about 5 months to pay- not horrible!

It will be hot, packed and a mad dash to get there. We are having a birthday party for our son on 7/28 from 2 to 5, he will be 6. We are driving so will need to leave Jersey right after the party. I convinced D sis and D bil to clean up for us so we can just go.

I am excited! My DN and DN are staying with us for the summer, (heavily discounted babysittig for DH and me). They have been only been to AK and MK as day trippers and never had the full Disney experience. Our son is not expecting a Disney trip since we cancelled our December trip. Didn't want him to miss school.

So fellow Disers, remember that while we're always too busy, it's always better to pay cash, and very young children may not remember thier first trip, life is short and we do not know what God has planned for us. Take a breath, smell the roses, enjoy your families and a big surprise once in a while is a good thing!

 

[JJ&JSMOM]

We got some bad news over the weekend, a friend of our family lost one of their 3 year old triplets on Saturday. She had a rare condition unbeknownst to doctors. The wake was today. She was dressed in a Snow White dress. It was thr sadest thing I have been to in my life. They had thier first Disney trip planned for 15 days from today. I don't know if thy are taking the other two girls, I kind of hope they do.

This had me thinking, what's the point? So two days ago I very spontaneously booked a Disney trip from 7/29 to 8/4. I can't beleive I did this. It will be me, DH,DS5, Dniece 16, Dneph12. I think I did this because, why not!!?? Its not the most reponsible thing to do, but not reckless either. We wanted to surprise our son and DN and DN.

The new discount gave us a pretty good rate, POR, hoppers and dining for $2900. I charged it, we NEVER charge vacations and weren't planning a Disney trip this year. I figure it will take about 5 months to pay- not horrible!

It will be hot, packed and a mad dash to get there. We are having a birthday party for our son on 7/28 from 2 to 5, he will be 6. We are driving so will need to leave Jersey right after the party. I convinced D sis and D bil to clean up for us so we can just go.

I am excited! My DN and DN are staying with us for the summer, (heavily discounted babysittig for DH and me). They have been only been to AK and MK as day trippers and never had the full Disney experience. Our son is not expecting a Disney trip since we cancelled our December trip. Didn't want him to miss school.

So fellow Disers, remember that while we're always too busy, it's always better to pay cash, and very young children may not remember thier first trip, life is short and we do not know what God has planned for us. Take a breath, smell the roses, enjoy your families and a big surprise once in a while is a good thing!

So sad. I am so sorry for you, your friend and family's loss. I can't imagine the pain & feeling of loss when losing a child. My heart goes out to all of you. You are right it is important to stop & smell the roses and tell our families how much we love them. Thank you for the reminder. I'm going to hug my kids again!

You are all in my prayers.

 

[emma'smom]

This is what I realized after 9-11...I was living my life in anticipation of the day when my "real life" would begin. I realized that it was time to get busy with my dreams and stop thinking there would always be a "someday". So, we left NYC...for small town America, I took a 20K paycut for a dream job, we had a baby, bought a house, and got living!! We also spend a lot of vacations (but not more than we can afford)....and I'll never say "Too bad we never did......"

 

[RachaelRol]

I'm going to hug my kids again!

Exactly what I did when I got home.

 

[RachaelRol]

This is what I realized after 9-11...I was living my life in anticipation of the day when my "real life" would begin. I realized that it was time to get busy with my dreams and stop thinking there would always be a "someday". So, we left NYC...for small town America, I took a 20K paycut for a dream job, we had a baby, bought a house, and got living!! We also spend a lot of vacations (but not more than we can afford)....and I'll never say "Too bad we never did......"

I was home on maternity leave on 9/11 right across the Hudson in Jersey. It's amazing and somewhat tragic how sad and horrible events make you realize what's really important.

Good for you. It was a very brave move.

 

[Cruz91]

A great friend of mine from work has always said since I first met him that money and time are both best spent on memories with your loved ones. It should never take a tragedy such as this to 'put things in perspective' - but we're all guilty of losing sight of things until we hear these stories.

Thanks for sharing - and giving me another reminder.

 

[belle&beast]

My DH lost his dad unexpectedly when he was 19. He has taught me to never take anything or anyone for granted. That is why we are planning a trip for December, sooner than we originally thought we could go again.

OP, you and your friends will be in my thoughts and prayers.

 

[eeyoregon]

How right you are!!!

In our local paper today was an article about a perfectly healthy 14 year old girl in our state. She had cold like symptoms and wasn't feeling "right" and she died suddenly of an extremely rare virus that attacks the heart. I have a 14 year old and it really hit home.

LIFE IS SOOOOOO SHORT AND PRECIOUS!! So many people I know spend their entire lives working hard for a "some day" trip or special purchase when they should be living in the NOW.

I am a single Mom that just got back from an Alaskan cruise with my two sons and my 80 yr old dad. My dad technically died in October and it is nothing short of a true miracle that he is still with us and doing well.

Could I afford this trip? Not really. Don't have credit cards so I had to pay for it and I am glad I did. We might not get to eat out as much for a while and the kids might not have a ton of new school clothes come fall but what we do have is priceless memories with grandpa and nothing is worth more than that!

God bless your family friends! I hope your trip is pure magic.

 

[Ariel8676]

I am so sorry for your friend..i can't even imagine.
I hope you and your family have a wonderful time in WDW...Drive safe!!!

 

[DawnM]

This is beyond sad. I do not believe there is anything more difficult than losing a child.

Dawn

 

[mickeyfan2]

So sorry for your friends loss.

Have a great time.

One can both stop to smell the roses and plan/save for the future. They are not mutually exclusive.

 

[hebbynan]

My family learned this one the hard way. My brother and sister in law tried for years to have a baby. They finally got pregnant and had my beautiful little niece Katie!! She was the sweetest little angel with the biggest eyes! Little did we know that those eyes were so big because she had so much to see in a very short amount of time. She was born with HLHS-missing the left side of her heart. She underwent open heart surgery at a tender 4 days old. As they were preparing for her 2nd surgery our dear sweet little angel was called home at just 6 months of age. It was by far the worst experience my family has ever had to face. She was the only grand daughter to my parents (they have 4 grandsons to my sister and I). She was just the happiest little baby despite the feeding tubes, the monitors, the meds, everything. She would smile at you with a smile that went right into your soul! Looking back it was almost like she knew she was here to show us just how important life and family are. Not a day goes by that I don't think of her and everynight, my oldest says a prayer just for her.

It was a lesson we keep close to our hearts, because once we forget that, we'll have forgotten Katie!

 

[kmjmom]

My heart aches for your friend and her family. I can't imagine how difficult it must be for them. I share your feelings about living for the moment. I lost a very close friend at the age of 35. As she was trying to get pregnant and start a family, she saw the Dr. for what they thought was strep throat. I was just pregnant with my third child at the time and was thinking how neat it would be for us to have our babies close together, Unfortunately her Strep throat turned out to be Leukemia and in just 3 months she was gone. She was diagnosed in Fenruary and died in May. I also lost my Dad very unexpectedly at the age of 67. These experience influenced me to not put things off. Enjoy your friends, family and children NOW! Live for the day and don't put things off for tomorrow. We don't know what tomorrow will bring. My DD and I will be going to WDW for our third Mother Daughter trip soon. It's become an annual event for us. I hope you have a wonderful impromptu family trip.

 

[pixiewings71]

That is so sad! I'm so sorry for your loss. My thoughts are with you and your friends. Enjoy your impromptu trip, I think those are the most fun!

 

[julm26]

Your post brought tears to my eyes. We never know when we See someone if it may be the last timel...

My friend Amy will be gone 9 years on August 5, 2007. She was 28, married with 4 children all under the age of 5 (the youngest was 9 months old). She was killed a mile from her home when she fell asleep at the wheel (she was a nurse) of her car and was hit head on by a logging truck.

It was (and still is at times) a traumatic time in my life and the friends left behind. I still remember that day clearly and how it changed my life forever....our group of friends has never been the same. We are not all living near each other but when we do get together (with our assortment of children and spouses) we always remember to hold on tight and never leave our times together without a hug and I love you.

Never any regrets, no should of, could of, if only....HUG YOUR CHILDREN AND SPOUSES TONIGHT AND DON'T FORGET TO CALL THAT OLD FRIEND AND TELL THEM HOW THEY MADE A DIFFERENCE IN YOUR LIFE.

 

[wehavesix]

I am so sorry for your friends' loss. I hope I never have to endure the loss of my own child. The closest I've ever come was when a former student was hit by a car and killed. She was in my pre-k class and was in the 4th grade when the accident happened. That was agonizing enough so I can only imagine the pain of the parents who lost this little child.

I think it's a normal reaction to want to live life to it's fullest following the death of someone close to you, especially when it's someone young. You just naturally want to embrace all the people and things you love and you appreciate them all the more when you are faced with how easily they can be lost. Enjoy your vacation. Think of it as a way to honor the memory of this little child. Like you, I hope her parents can find a way to make the trip with their other daughters. It could be a very healing time for the family.

 

[emh1129]

I'm so sorry for your friend's loss. I agree that it's a wonderful message to embrace life and treasure those around you.

 

[NU2WDW]

RachaelRol, I hope you have a wonderful trip!

 

[mickeymouse1017]

My thoughts and prayers are with your friends. I have not been able to think about anything else today. My DD will be 3 next week and I could not imagine something so terrible. I had to give her an extra hug and kiss after reading your post this morning. Even the sight of her Snow White dress makes me sad. I hope that their other girls are doing well. Please enjoy your trip and thanks for reminding us of how precious life is!

 

[ellyn2000]

RachelRol, what a thought provoking reminder to enjoy the things that matter most in life. While you did do a "spur of the moment trip", you did it in a responsible way and that will make it even more enjoyable. Have a wonderful time and I'm going to see if I can work up the courage to do something totally spontaneous this weekend.............