Why Disney World is Magical

I have been harassing Jaren for about a year now that we should take the boys to Disney World before the magic dies for them. While Austin still thinks Mickey Mouse is cool and Caleb still cares about Lightning McQueen and Jake from the Never Land Pirates. And they were the perfect ages! Perfect! Young enough to still find magic but old enough not to need naps and diaper changes. Much younger than 4 and I don't know if I would want to go.

I noticed through out the week how well I know my children and I took a little bit of pride in realizing how in-tune I am, as their mother, to their individual personalities and needs. On our first night there Caleb got hurt. He was weaving his body in and out of others as he raced to catch up with Austin and as he darted, a man holding his daughter shifted just at the right time and bumped into Caleb. Caleb knocked his mouth on a metal pole. He screamed instantly. As his mom I know how much he hates to have any attention on him. I know that if he just gets kind of hurt he won't cry until he is in my arms. I knew he was hurt if he was crying that badly. It was his tooth and I knew the second I looked at it that it wasn't right. Funny, I thought! I see his cute little smile every time he laughs, I brush and floss his little teeth every night and I never realized that I knew the shape of his teeth like I know the back of my hand but sure enough, I did. One of his front teeth was just slightly back from where it normally was but enough to cause it to bleed a ton. The employee's were Johhny on the spot and they called the Disney World Paramedics. By the time they showed up Caleb had blood smeared all over his face but I could tell that his tooth was feeling better. The paramedics thought it must still be hurting because of how badly he was crying but I knew that wasn't why he was crying. For my incredibly personal and to himself little child he was overwhelmed! He had too many people looking at him, he had gotten hurt and he was covered in blood and I knew he was crying now simply because he was overwhelmed. He was fine once we got him away from the crowd. Although I think he will lose the tooth, it's going yellow and bleeds when we brush it.

Another example, still Caleb. He is my cuddly, loveable child and it was interesting for me to see how much he loved that characters. He wanted to be in every picture and he wanted to be by himself. Recently I have been praying to know how to better connect with Caleb, how to make sure that he feels loved. I got my answer one day when I was sick. I was in his bed waiting while he got dressed and when he was done he came over to take care of me. He pretended to be a dr and looked in my ears and throat and gave me shots and medicine. Then he gathered up some of his toys and placed them by my head and told me that if I played with them I would feel better. It dawned on me if this is what Caleb thinks I need to feel better then this is what Caleb needs. All he needs is for me to play with him. That is how he will feel loved. And I realized while we were at Disney World that Caleb really loves these character. He watched them on TV, He dresses up like them, he has stuffed animals like them and toys and he plays with them. And that is how Caleb feels loved so truly it was magical for him to have them all there, in person, to see and take pictures with.

 

 

 

And for Austin, I absolutly loved watching him there. As Jaren says he's our child that runs at a different RPM than most of us, a higher one. He just goes and goes and goes. He couldn't hold still when he was inside of me and it hasn't chanegd at all. I can't tell you how often Jaren and I exchange smiles while we're in the kitchen cleaning because he is in the other room bouncing up and down, up and down while he watches a movie. And go, go, go is exactly what Austin got to do at Disney World! It truly was magical for Austin in that he could run non-stop. The roller coasters were fast, the rides were exhilerating, there was some new adventure around every corner and my "embrace life to the fullest" was taking in every ounce if it.

I loved that Austin is still a kid! While he didn't love the characters to the same extent that Caleb did he still appreciated seeing them and believed in them. He loved the late night parade and shouted hello to them as they passed. One night Goofy's rollercoaster wasn't working and the employee's told the boys that Goofy ran off with the keys. Austin laughed and laughed and then said, "Why in the world would he do that?" Without a trace of disbelief in what they had just told him. In his mind that's what really happenned.

It was magical for both my boys in that all we did all week was hang out as a family! There were no bills to pay, no phone calls, no work e-mails. Mom and Dad's time and energy was focused on one thing and one thing only, our boys and that right there makes for a magical week for any family!

So weather they were riding their favorite roller caoster way past bed time,

 eating ice-cream on the hot days,

concentrating on defeating Zurg,

drawing Goofy, or even dancing with Goofy

 they truly were having a magical week!