So this is it.
The last installment.
The last shout out for a trip that spanned seven days and took three months to write about. I really do surprise myself at how long winded I can be. I never really thought it would take this long to finish the trip report but the truth is that once I started recalling our adventures in the World and writing about them, this thing kind of took on a shape all its own.
But this is our last ride together and there is so much I have swirling around in my mind. So many memories and so many wonderful and sad emotions that it would take forever for me to put them all down for you.
So I think I will just talk to you from the heart this time and tell you that on that particular Saturday morning sitting in the food court of Port Orleans Riverside, our thoughts turned bittersweet.
We had done so many wonderful things on our vacation to Disneyworld that October. We had witnessed our son overcome one of his biggest fears and come out grinning from ear to ear with pride. We had dined with the most famous princess on the planet and watched our young daughter stare in wide eyed wonder as she realized The Fairy Godmother actually knew where she lived.
We shared too many laughs to count with our old friends and made too many memories to count with our young children.
But sadly, all good things must come to an end. And so for the first time in a week, we thought of home.
I have struggled over the last few days with how best to explain our emotions that day. I could sit here and crank out twenty pages in Word and still not be able to fully convey to you what coming home meant to us at that particular point in time. Basically, we were leaving an environment like this
to come home to an environment like this
Nothing like a little cold, stark reality in your face to put things into perspective, right?
But I feel I must tread very lightly here.
The fact of the matter is that we were actually blessed beyond belief in that we had a home with four walls to come back to. We did have damage but it was nothing to speak of compared to what some went through. Most of the people we know were not nearly as fortunate as us. I heard it said not too long after the storm that every single person on the Coast was affected by Katrina, it was all just a matter of varying degrees. I think that’s true. Because damage is not always measured in the physical sense. Sometimes the worst damage cannot be seen with the naked eye alone or tallied in some insurance adjuster’s figures.
Bear with me for a moment here.
My daughter has always loved to draw.
In her drawings, there have always been three constants. Sunny skies, green trees and smiling families. In the days following the hurricane, she began having nightmares on a regular basis. Up until this point, her dreams had only consisted of the typical fodder of four year olds, cotton candy and rainbows. The nightmares continued for awhile and it was at this point that she suddenly became a full time artist. She drew feverishly. But there were no happy families or green trees in these drawings. Where sunny skies had once been, now there were only swirling grey blobs. Every drawing was the same.
One afternoon I noticed a stick figure had appeared in the middle of the blob. Knowing full well what the answer would be, I cautiously asked my daughter what was going on in her drawing. She informed me very matter of factly in her best four year old voice that Hurricane Katrina was chasing Miss Ann. Miss Ann is my daughter’s ballet teacher who, like so many others that we know, lost everything in the storm. I did my best to try to reassure her and explain to her that Miss Ann was okay even though her house was gone and that Mommy and Daddy will always do everything in their power to keep her and her brother safe. I realized that day that my baby, like so many others, had lost a part of her innocence.
It was about that time that we left for Disneyworld. We were thrilled for the opportunity to go and escape the madness for only one week, but we also felt very guilty for allowing ourselves the escape when there were so many others who weren‘t nearly as fortunate as we were.
But I think if we all learned nothing else from the storm, it was that life is precious and that we never know what tomorrow may bring. The sad thing is that it shouldn’t take a hurricane or some other equally horrible event to remind us all that we need to hug our children more and take time to stop and smell the roses.
So for that one week, we stopped and smelled the roses. And their scent was intoxicating.
We always knew that Disneyworld was a place where you could escape the pressures of everyday life and that is one of the reasons we keep going back. But it rang especially true for us on this particular trip. We escaped the madness and sadness for a week and we ate like kings and queens while we were there. We laughed till our sides hurt. We rode rides and got our Laugh Scream on. We were truly happy during our time in Disneyworld. How could we not be? Everything is yellow there.
Figuratively. Not literally.
Yellow. It’s the color happy would be if it had a color. And Disneyworld truly is the Happiest Place on Earth. It can banish the blues like nobody's business.
So as I look back on our time in Disneyworld, I smile.
I remember our one on one session with Pluto and the priceless look on my son’s face that night. I remember the thrill of riding Test Track with my husband and babies and getting my Laugh Scream on in DH’s ear on Crush n Gusher. I remember my little Belle skipping through Epicot and my Anakin beaming with pride on Splash Moutain. I think about our first glimpse of the glowing castle and I hear the music in my head and I smell the popcorn and I can feel the boom in my chest from the fireworks at Illuminations. I can even feel the wind in my hair as I ride Soarin.
Oh wait, that’s just the ceiling fan. My bad.
And as I sit here and smile and recall our time together on our family vacation, I know that God has truly blessed us beyond all comprehension.
Everything is a blessing. The fact that we are all together is a blessing. The fact that we are all healthy and alive is a blessing. The fact that we have a home is a blessing. The fact that we had the means to take a much needed family vacation is a blessing.
We take nothing for granted now and we cling to the treasured family memories we made on that trip and many others like it.
We know that time has a way of moving on and before we blink our eyes, our daughter won’t be five years old anymore and our son will be driving. Right now, in this moment, my husband and I understand that we are still the most important people in our children’s lives. But we also understand that before long, teenage angst will probably take over and our children will want to spend less and less time with us. My husband and I don’t want those days to come and if I know us, we will put up the good fight when they do.
But for now, they are still five and eight.
They are still our babies. They still want a bed time story and a late night snuggle once in a while. So we hold them close and we hug them and we take them to Disneyworld and we count our many, many blessings and spend as much time with them as we possibly can.
As Van Morrison so eloquently put it, ‘These are the days that we must savor. We must enjoy them as we can. These are the days that will last forever. You’ve got to hold them in your heart.”
You’ve got to make it count. Carpe Diem. Seize the day.
If you remember nothing else from this trip report, please remember that. Because there'll be a pop quiz later.
So anyway, there we are, sitting over our half eaten Mickey waffles and we look around at each other. We all know the time has come. We take one last long look around Port Orleans as we (I) stuff our uneaten Mickey rice crispy treats into our (my) bag.
Goodbye huge spinning wheel on the side of the food court. Goodbye horses with the relaxing clopping feet. Goodbye Locke. Watch that weather and don’t give out too many doubloons.
The kids get a few more pressed pennies to add to the collection and we head into the gift shop to waste a couple more twenties. I grab a red Mickey shaped ice cube tray and a bunch of bags of Goofy Candy Company candy for the road and we head out to the parking lot.
It's time to go. The jig is up. No more stalling.
We all pile into our blessedly overpacked minivan and bid the Mouse farewell.
As we are pulling out of the parking lot, I snap a picture of the bus stop.
There they are. Those people we love to hate. Disneyschadenfreude. Nuff said.
I don’t know why the bus stop was so important to me at the time. I guess I felt a little like DD felt on our first day. That Disney bus took us to magical places. It was a metaphor. A means to an end. So I snap a picture of the bus stop and let out a bittersweet sigh.
We drive under the arches headed back out towards the real world. We’re not on the good side. You know, the side you wanna to be on. We’re on the leaving side, not the arriving side.
I turn around in my seat and take a picture, trying to make it last longer.
Told ya it was overpacked.
I sit turned around in my seat and hold those Disneyworld arches in my gaze until I can no longer see them. Then I turn around and reach for a fanny pack.
We get settled in for the long drive home and I put on the first of four movies for the kids. They were all Disney, of course. Because we like to torture our children occasionally. And ourselves while we’re at it. From the back of the van, I hear DD’s sweet voice. “
Daddy, I miss Mickey.” She hasn’t stopped saying it since.
I am pleased to announce that shortly after our trip, our daughter began drawing feverishly again. And this time, her drawings were back to normal. The pictures once again depicted sunny skies, green trees and happy, smiling families. She had even picked up two more symbols of happiness, Mickey and Minnie.
Did ya get that?
Before Disneyworld, grey swirling blobs. After Disneyworld, sunshine and smiling faces.
Coincidence? I think not. Our baby girl is happy again. Who can put a price tag on that?
Since October, a lot has changed. The debris has been picked up from outside our house. Things are starting to look normal again for the most part, at least in our neighborhood. The trees and grass are green once again. People are rebuilding everywhere you look. Yeah, you can't keep us down for the count. We are a very spirited group, us Southerners.
DH and I did finally end up going on that romantic tenth anniversary getaway. We celebrated our anniversary at our second favorite place to be, the beach. We had a wonderful weekend. We held hands across a candlelit table and made googly eyes at each other all night. We talked nonstop about the good old days when we were dating and about the two most precious things in the world to us.
My son had my cell phone just the other day and started playing the Fantasmic theme. Yes, I have it downloaded on my cell phone. And yes, I am pathetic. I know.
He played it over and over again and he and his sister just sat there with these big, goofy grins on their faces. Then DD announces, “That song makes me ‘member Mickey. I
miss him, Mommy.”
Well cheer up, my dear. Because the Clampetts are headed back to the World.
Yep, Epicot, free dining, and
MNSSHP, dontcha know.
It’s true that DH announced shortly after returning that we would not be going back to Disneyworld for several years. He wanted to go somewhere different, and I halfheartedly agreed back then. We thought of different destinations and priced out our options. We did lots of research online. We found a few places we were interested in but then somehow we always would end up looking at each other and saying “But what would we do once we got there? I mean, it’s not like it’s
Disneyworld or anything.”
Then all of a sudden, Disney offers free dining again. Who would have ever thought that would happen again, right? That was the number two of my one two punch. One being Epicot. Of course. I hit DH with it and he couldn't agree quick enough.
So it’s on. It’s official. It’s booked. The Clampetts are headed back. We can’t wait to be back in the Land of Yellow.
DS has already announced he will be riding Splash Mountain again. But he has put his foot down in regards to Rock n Roller Coaster.
Uh uh. No way we’re gettin’ him on that thing, or so he says. Yeah right, whatever, we’ll see. Mwa ha ha haaaaa.
DD is biding her time until she sees Mickey again. She has mentioned that she imagines he will tickle her back when he sees her. He did this once years ago when she was still afraid of him and she instantly turned her frown upside down. The child was two and she still remembers. And she still smiles when she thinks about it.
Yellow. I’m telling you. It’s all yellow.
In a way I’m sad that the trip report is over. I’m sad because I have thoroughly enjoyed reliving my wonderful memories and bringing you along for the ride with me.
I am so unbelievably touched that any of you would take the time out of your lives to share in our adventures. To each and every one of you who have taken the time to read and post anything encouraging at all, thank you. Thank you for your kind words and your inspiration. I have met a lot of really cool people through this and I hope to be hanging out with yall more over on the CB boards and then back here again after our next trip.
But for now, it’s time for me to turn my focus back to my family again. They have been wonderful since I have been writing this report. I have to admit that I have turned into somewhat of a computer hog and have burned a few suppers along the way. So I guess I owe them something better than Crunchy Taco Hamburger Helper again tonight.
DH and I have sat around and laughed like there’s no tomorrow at the memories this experience has brought back to the surface I think I even managed to impress him slightly with my ability to recall so many details. And make him laugh. Which I guess is always a good thing. And I know that before too much longer, I will be once again sitting right here where I am now, staring at the computer screen and trying to decide where to take you first.
But for now, there is planning to do. I gotta hop to it. I’m a little behind schedule. There are itineraries to put together and Sharpies to be found. There are Maelstrom Tshirts to be made and pennies to be saved.
It seems like so far away, but the truth is that time has a way of flying and I know it will be here before we know it.
It won’t be long before we are walking right down the middle of Main Street sporting perma grins and watching in awe as the castle glows green and purple and blue. We will sing along to Wishes as we watch the fireworks and I will no doubt think of ZZUB and his little girl. We will stake out a spot for the parade and I’ll probably think of FSUMarchief and his redneck friend if anybody gets in our way. I know I’ll think of Mel Happyhaunt and those darn paintbrushes when I pass Tom Sawyer Island and MOMOFMNM when I even utter the words “The Poly” or when we eat at Ohana’s. Which we DID score an ADR for this time, by the way. Go me.
So in a weird way, I guess I will be bringing all of yall along with me for the ride this time. I can’t wait. I know we’ll all have a blast.
And this time, without a doubt, I
will be havin’ me a Dole Whip.
I’ll let you know if it lives up to my expectations.
duties to perform each morning while the girls are doing their girlie thing.
Thanks for reading, Girl. you're a.... 
Thank you for sharing your memories with us.
