Back to Reality

So the chaos of getting ready for Halloween has delayed getting back to the usual grind.   But here we are.  Cold gray weather and a slightly cold gray mood at the house crunch.   Where is the Disney magic now?

All the Halloween decorations are down and put away.   Oldest has stormed out the house angry at us again.  Same old same old.  For seven days, our family basked in the hot sun and fun of Disneyland and we barely said a cross word to one another.  Instead, we laughed.

We laughed a lot.  I will admit to having trepidations about this trip.  I couldn’t imagine Adam being away from his friends and games for 7 days.  I couldn’t imagine him settling down at night so we could all sleep at a decent hour.   I couldn’t imagine us all not getting on each other’s nerves.  Instead.  We all seemed to breathe, relax and truly embrace the concept of a vacation.

The biggest negative was it was incredibly hot, and our family doesn’t do great in the heat.  40 degrees in October. Who woulda thunk it.

However, the Howard Johnson is a fab hotel for shady lovely pools and a great water park.  So like a few families, we would hang poolside and enjoy the parks in the cool of the evening when Disneyland and California Adventure were open late.  The kids loved this as the Halloween decorations in both parks was amazing and they got to go on their favourite ride – the Grizzly Rapids Run – over and over and over without getting out of the boat.

This trip to Disneyland was also special as we were there with our nephew and his parents   It was their first time as a family so it was great to see the experience through his eyes.   Especially Star Wars.   We are not sure how many times Logan went on the Star Tours ride.  He might have broken Adam’s record.

For Tara this trip, it was Carsland. It did look amazing at night with the neon and the decorations. She loved the Radiator Springs Racer ride…..was more than happy to line up for hours on end.

I love the Disney experience.  I love the idea of giving yourself to the whole world they have created.  Nothing matters when you are there except having fun.   We are all there in our Minnie and Mickey Mouse hats,  and nothing more complicated crosses our minds than what should we eat or what ride should we go on next.

This was an expensive trip that came at a time when money isn’t THAT great for us.  But I am so glad we went.   I got seven days when my big teenage son laughed with me, would walk arm in arm with me.    I got seven days when I laughed so hard my ribs ached.  I got seven days surrounded by my family.    I got seven days watching them laugh together.   What a wondrous gift.

I will cling to that when we are in these dark cold days and the family has fractured over a fight about the Xbox.   I will cling to those seven days and it will help me fight for what I know we can be as a family.

I love you all.   My family.

Stay strong.