We are on our way to Epcot, for some really yummy food. But before I begin our wonderful evening I want to add onto my explanation of why we have come to see the Mouse. I felt now was as good of time in the story as any. Had I put it in the begining, I may have scared you away. The end, would be a loney way to end our trip. So I figure the middle is just right.
I wrote and re-wrote the next several paragraphs.
I thought for a long time about, how I was going to explain my need to return again and again. It is really quite an interesting thing to think about.
Why do we do the things we do?
If you haven’t already tried it, I highly recommend it. It is like self therapy.
So I started writing.
I began spilling it all out. By all, I mean every little tiny detail. Wow, that felt great!
Then I took a step back...
I thought…
And thought…
I came to the realization, that although it felt great! I would leave it at that. There really was no need to share it ALL with everyone. (after all we barely know each other, why would you want or need to read about my dirty laundry).
And what I came up with. What…for me, is enough to be shared...
Although I do enjoy many of the same things as most; the special sounds you hear as you walk through the parks, the sweet (and sometimes not so sweet) smells, the ambiance, the silly characters, yummy restaurants, and all of the rest of the sights and the beauty. I more enjoy the magic Disney brings to me, as I share it with my beautiful children.
We all have stories. Stories about our lives. These stories define who we are. They are our personal history.
At birth we are given a story. We live that story each and everyday, until one day we are able to begin our own story. At that point we are granted the gift to make our stories into whatever we want our stories to be. I am a firm believer that, although some people may start out with better stories (and some with much better stories), at some point in our lives, we each can define the path which our stories will take. At the point we take over our own story, we then can choose the road in which it will travel.
Some of our stories are sad.
Others happy.
Many are hard.
Few are easy.
Most have a balanced blend of happy, sad, easy and hard.
It must be pointed out that NO story is better than another. No story is more easy, nor hard.
The beauty is that we can handle anything we are given. Any path that our story leads, can be celebrated. It is our own story and it cannot be taken away from us. Yet with each step, we can experience the magic of our own lives. We just need to believe…believe in ourselves…
I don’t have any memories of my first trip(s) to see the mouse. Of what photo’s I have, I can place the date to be somewhere between my 1st and 2nd birthday (we’ll just say early 70’s). Until 1996, all of my visits where to DL (I think it is now known as DLR…
Disneyland Resort).
Each year, during the summer months, I would go and visit my grandparents in California. I looked forward to this trip, so very much. My grandparents were not your typical gray haired, polyester wearing type. They were (and I believe still are) more ‘urban’ than most 20 somethings. Some visits they lived in the ‘Hills’, sometimes at the ‘beach’ and many times at the ‘Marina’. They drove fun cars, took me shopping for clothes, showed me all of the LA sights and watched me swim in their pools. Every trip to visit also meant at least 1 trip of magic, to see the mouse and the castle. These trips have always stuck with me. Ingrained in my being of what life’s magic can be…
More important, than all of the glitz, glam and adventures…my grandparents spent time with me…They showed me love…They showed me how proud they were of me...They told me how special ‘I’ was.
I, as many children do, came from a broken family. Life at ‘home’ was hard (and I will leave it at that). That is where my story began. The story I was given. The story, which molded the base of my life today.
So ‘why the Mouse?’ What draws me back to him? Why do I, to this day love being surrounded by the magic?
Walking through the gates, as your senses first touch Disney, if you let go you can escape your world. You can find a place with no worries, a place of make believe, a place of beauty, where evil may at times be present, however good always prevails. This place was magic for me.
By the time of my visits as a child, my escapes were well earned. For just a brief time, there would be NO worries of home. How lucky was I, to have this outlet…Very, I know! Many children in situations like mine, or worse, have nowhere but their dreams. For the rest of my life, I will pray for them everyday…every single …day.
Today, I am an adult (if this is what an adult is?).
When it was my turn to choose where my story was going to go, I knew exactly where my story would not go! I made my choice to aim it in the direction it is currently going.
Seeing the Mouse, brings me back to a place. The childhood place where maybe I sometimes still need to be. The place that gave me so many special dreams and a lot of great memories.
With tiny fingers in hand, I share the dreams & memories. I share the excitement and wonder with the most precious beings in the world, my children. I want my children to know in their hearts that life is tough & isn’t always fair. But, they get a say in their own life. They get to help choose where their path will lead them. When times are tough or they need a reminder of what Happiness or Magic are; they have a place to call their own ‘special’ place, where their dreams can come true. A place you check your problems at the door. Where they can escape reality and step into their dreams. A magical place, were equality is given and not earned nor fought for.
Fortuneatly history will not repeat itself from my story to their stories. I have chosen a different path for them. One that will one day be turned over to them. One that I hope the magic never dies from. I was blessed with a gift of the Magic of Disney. I thank my Grandparent for that gift. I was blessed even more when another relative saved me from the path I was on. That adjustment in my road, directly brought me to today…I am thankful for that every minute of each day…
I thank Disney for the dreams of magic in my heart. For helping bring magic to my life. For that I promise that I will always believe…
Now back to the story, I pinky-promise to have the Cream Cheese Mashed Potatoes & Martini’s up soon. I really am working on it.
UP NEXT, I PROMISE! Did someone say, Cream Cheese Mashed Potatoes & Yummy Martini’s? PG 17, POST 254
That sounds just like I imagine the Disney Ducks!
)
LOVE IT! This time...to tough!
Grandparents are VERY excited and happy and thrilled and this gramma is still flying after being in the delivery room 
And check... ticker deleted 
