Disney

Ten Disney Miracles

Our Disney Miracle began with me throwing up in the bathroom of the airport hotel. It’s a funny way to begin a “miracle story,” I realize, but that really is the truth of it! We were 7 hours from climbing aboard the 727 that was taking us to Disney and I was toilet-bound. But the miracles unfolded from there in roughly this order:

• Miracle One: My eldest daughter, so excited about going to Disney, said that it was “okay” if we couldn’t go since I was sick and all. Wow. How is that for compassion?

 

• Miracle Two: My former husband, who was joining us on this family trip, (that should really be named as a miracle unto itself – I mean, how many divorced parents do you know that still do family vacations??), saw that I was sick, and agreed to drive to Disney instead of flying. He did not want to drive because he drives every day for work, but he is such a great guy and a fabulous dad that he put aside his own desires to compromise for the family. Wow. Fabulous Dad, indeed!

 

• Miracle Three: My stomach flu symptoms ceased in the morning so that we could all climb in the car at 9 am and start our long road trip. Wow. I love homeopathy! Works like a charm!

 

• Miracle Four: We were on the road for 11 hours that first day, 12 hours the next and 3 hours the third day. My kids have never been in the car for longer than a 2 hour trip. Historically, my youngest would start crying after about 10 minutes in the car. Yes, they argued a bit and yes, there were a few tense moments, but only a few tense moments in 3 days of driving was pretty darn good! Wow. I have great kids!

 

• Miracle Five: Upon alerting the Disney Resort that we had missed the plane due to illness and would not be arriving until Tuesday (not Sunday), they promptly told me that they would refund our money for the missed days and that they would simply see us when we got there. They even wished us a “magical journey!” Wow. What customer service!

 

• Miracle Six: By the second night of our road trip, my daughter was no longer stressing about where we would stay at night. In the past, she has had trouble sleeping away from home. Suddenly, she just seemed to understand that there would be a hotel there for us whenever we stopped and that it would be okay. Major shift for her. Major Wow.

 

• Miracle Seven: Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, Florida…it was a trip of memories for me as I had travelled this road many times as a child with my own parents. In Tennessee, I wept for the beauty of the mountains and called my dad to say, “Wow. Dad now I totally understand why you loved road trips so much. This is beyond beautiful.”

 

• Miracle Eight: We arrived at Disney with fanfare and hoopla! The staff greeted my girls as Princesses, gave them balloons, autograph books and pens, and even had flowers for me! We all cheered for “us” as we headed into the Magic Kingdom that first day. We had made it – 2.5 days of travelling in the car with 2 small children, no map, and we did it. Wow. My family is amazing!

 

• Miracle Nine: We relaxed. That in and of itself is a miracle. In our stressed-out crazy world, it’s easy to forget the necessity of pure and simple relaxation. We relaxed, we had fun, we ate tons of great ice cream. We swam, we napped, we shopped, we laughed. Wow. That’s exactly what vacations are all about.

 

• Miracle Ten: We’re going to do it all again! Well, maybe not the throwing up part at the beginning of the trip but otherwise, we had such an amazing time that I had already began to plan the next vacation the day after we got home. The world is our oyster…there is so much to see, so much to do. Wow is right!

 

It’s a great big wonderful world out there and miracles happen each and every day. Small miracles, big miracles…it’s all in how you view the world and the method through which you choose to experience life. Me, I choose to experience my life as a series of miracles. How about you?