Not all of this trip was fun and magic. There were a few things to take care of before we left. Some things were better than others. All had to be done before we could go.
I didn’t have the time or energy for my normal freak out WDW planning.
I booked the resort my DS has yet to stop talking about, since we added on 2 nights to our Jan. 07 trip and stayed there…POP! I guess you could say that the POP made quite the impression on my DS. I can see how the place can do that to a kid. It’s well stocked with BRIGHT, OVERSIZED embellishments of times past.
The pool is always hoppin at the POP and not to mention the ICEE machine. Who wouldn’t love never ending cups filled with bright blue, sweet slushy ice? That is if you have a refillable mug…which you never, ever reused for subsequent trips. Hehehe (HAD to put that splat in there… love the refillable mug police.
LY/MI)
Since this trip was intended for my DS, I decided to forgo the mass amounts of over planning in order to get us great ADR’s at all of our
…errr my favorite eateries… on all of the days we would be in each park. Ufta, that is a lot of work to plan those ADR's, isn’t it? Anyways, let’s face it; a 6 year old really doesn’t want to sit through meal after meal after meal… No way! They want to be out experiencing life, boppin in a pool, enjoying the rides and magic of WDW! So with that thought, I was off the hook in many ways.
Right?
Well there were just a few reservations that this momma needed. After all, a WDW lovin momma can’t go to WDW with her DS…for his 6th B-day and skip ____ & _____ &_____. (you’ll just have to read along to find out where we go. After all, It’s a Surprise BABY!).
My DS was in all day Kindergarten, so packing wasn’t an issue at all. I had been keeping a laundry basket filled with vacation needs in my closet. As I thought of something, I’d throw it in. He never even thought twice when he’d walk by it. Clueless! Simply clueless! The AM before we left, I literally threw all of our stuff into our luggage in a matter of minutes. Literally, with Tink (the little sis) engrossed in Disney cartons, packing was a synch!
One of the biggest challenges with getting our stuff together was getting together all of my traditional items of magic… i.e. home made autograph books, themed personalized t-shirts for the b-day boy and the BRAT and all of my Tinkerbelle presents.
Tinkerbelle presents.
Yes, Tinkerbelle presents.
Do you all do Tinkerbelle presents?
I do and this is how…
Tink visits each and every night and leaves a little Disney Magic for good little boys and girls. If you’re naughty Tink does NOT come. Yes, Tink really can NOT COME for the naughty… It’s not just a crock or repeated threat that I give, over and over. If you are naughty, Tink brings you nothing. And you’ll like it! If I tell my kids something won’t happen when they’re naughty, it won’t…you just wait and see. Remember that. It’ll come back up more than once.
So the gathering of Tink presents was a bit harder as the
Disney Store is only located at one mall which is located a good 40 minutes away from me. I like to pick up small little Disneyish tokens on behalf of Tink. Little trinkets which I think will be fun mementos of the trip. Well lo and behold; just when I was thinking I was in trouble, I read on the DIS that Dollar Tree had quite the selection of Disneyish items. SO I hunted down a Dollar Tree and whoohoooty! I scored! Who would have thought…I have a Dollar Tree just a few minutes from home.
Needless to say, I scored BIG TIME there, and will be hitting it back up for my next trip (which just so happens to be over Thanksgiving).
After I had us all packet up and ready to go, I hid the suitcase in the back of the car and all that was left to do was exactly what I dreaded the most. I had been trying to prepare myself for that moment for weeks leading up to the trip. I dreaded it. I wanted it to go away. I really just wanted to run away and not look back.
But I couldn’t.
I had to be strong.
She taught me to be strong.
I tucked my children in bed the night before our trip, knowing that my ds was going to be awoken, to his surprise, before the dawn of the sun. I kissed him and gave and extra squeeze before I whispered that I loved him and that in the morning, I would have a special surprise waiting. With that he excitedly curled up to fall asleep.
Next was time for TINK, my rambunctious just about 3 year old. I snuggled her tightly in my arms, while I read her her bedtime story. After the story was finished I couldn’t resist but to hold her for just a few more minutes. I needed to smell her and feel her for just a bit more. I would be leaving my sweet little girl behind. Leaving her, so I could bond with her many times out shined brother. But I was going to miss her. Miss her terribly, I would. When I went to lay her down, I couldn’t help but to kiss her, what seemed to be a million times. I needed to make sure that she had kisses for the entire time we would be apart.
After closing the door to her room, a flush of “butterflies” consumed my body. The same nervous rush consumes me today, as I type. I remember leaving my house and driving as carefully as I could. Tears streamed down my face, as I held the steering wheel tightly. I don’t know how I got to the house so fast. Maybe it was my anxiety, maybe it was my tears, but it seemed like I left my own house and just appeared in the driveway of my parents. I walked inside, not saying a word to the many family members who had gathered and were taking turns being nurses. They all knew why I was there. They all parted from the living room and moved to the kitchen, giving me my space, my privacy.
She was lying in a hospital bed, which was pushed against the wall. She was dressed in one of her hospital gowns and had tubs taped to her skin, which held a catheter and epidural of medicines to help her through her pain. Her breathing was labored. Her skin appeared darker and sagged from her bones.
I pulled a chair close to her side and sat next to her. I grabbed her hand, taking note that her nails were still so nicely painted in a brownish pick tone. I had given her a manicure and pedicure weeks before. It seems that nail polish sticks well, when hands are not being used.
I held her hand.
I watched her breath.
Deep breath in…her chest would rise
…Pause…
She’d let it go…
As I sat, with her hand firmly in mine, I studied her features…The fine lines of her skin, the shape of her open mouth. I committed it all to memory, thinking that I may never see her again. I whispered all of my thoughts, telling her that I loved her. I had one more important message to convey…What was most important for me was that I told her “Thank You”. Thank you for caring for me, when no one else could. Thank You for loving me, when no one else was. I thanked her for taking me into her home when I was a parentless child and told her she taught me to be the woman and mother I was now. With that her eyes opened and she said, “Hi”. She was groggly awake and I reminded her that was bringing “her boy” (as she referred to her grandson) to Disney in the morning. She said, “Good” paused “Have a good time.” I told her I loved her. She said, “love you too.” And she fell back asleep.
"Good Night, Sleep Tight".
NEXT POST: Page 6
I'll go watch My Girl to get prepared.
GO FOR IT! You will have a blast!
Some Brats are higher on the totem pole. This one was sitting on the TOP!
).
