In October, our family snuck away for a trip we had been looking forward to for over five years – our first (and likely only?) big trip to Disney World. In February of 2020, we planned a trip to Orlando to visit my husband’s Granny and extended family, and I ran the Princess Half Marathon with one of my husband’s cousins the day before our oldest son’s birthday. So naturally, we decided to go to Disney World for his 7th birthday.
Well, a few years later when our second-born was getting close to turning 7, we decided it would be fun to spend his 7th birthday in Orlando, too. So we planned our yearly trip to see Granny around his 7th birthday, and enjoyed a long weekend with family and one day at Magic Kingdom.
It wasn’t long before we realized we would also then need to return to Disney for our youngest’s 7th birthday, but my husband declared that his little girl was going to get 7 days at Disney for her 7th birthday. As she turned 7, our boys were 12 and 9 (almost 10), so it felt like just the right ages for a big family trip.
We spent months planning our trip, saving for the trip, learning about the pros/cons of staying on property vs off property, listening to podcasts about restaurants and learning about meal plan options, and I even found a podcast centered around planning your Disney Vacation with intention, being mindful of regulation and pacing yourself (I bought her class so fast and highly recommend it!)
But then … despite the planning, excitement, and intention, I still found myself in October, on our first day of Vacation, sitting at Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon Water Park, staring at the wave pool while my kids ran off to try a water slide, feeling sort of stuck. I remember thinking, “How am I supposed to shift into vacation mode for the next 10 days amidst everything that’s going on?”
My mind was full of things happening in my personal life as well as the various unrest of our country and world at large, and I was feeling uncomfortable with the privilege of being able to just … sneak away and spend a ‘magical week’ at Disney.
My mind worked through various thoughts, and I basically settled on knowing that I wanted to be present with my family and my daughter amidst her 7th birthday and this once in a lifetime trip, and that feeling bad about being there or staying as tuned into the news cycle wouldn’t really benefit anyone.
The thought crossed my mind, “Some days are for Walt Disney World”. As soon as I thought it, I knew I needed to hold on to it and return to that thought throughout the week when my mind began to get pulled elsewhere. “Some days are for Walt Disney World” and “Today is a Walt Disney World Day” became mantras of sorts for me that week, and helped me get swept up into the special week we had planned, and to free myself from what was lingering at home and around the world so I could be present to the life in front of me.
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In a way, I find myself here again, sitting on a chair – looking at a stretch of time in the coming weeks that we are planning for, excited for, and being intentional about.
As we enter the Holiday Season, I wonder if you or I will need a similar sort of permission, or invitation, to look at our lives and what is happening in the world around us, and see it honestly – but also – have permission to set our concerns and worries down for a day or two in exchange of being present to the dear ones we get to share the Holiday Season with. I will never advocate for forgetting the poor or the marginalized, or for turning a blind eye to the suffering around us – I want to remember and make room and find ways to provide care and generosity to the suffering.
And – I think it is costly to ourselves and others when we are unable to be present with those we are with, especially during special times of year.
We need to be free to be able to fully experience the joy that overflows from the moment of connection, and the deep laughter that erupts from time with those who you feel deeply known and seen by. We need to be free to tend to the grief that lingers beneath the surface of the year passing and life unfolding and changing. We need space to be present to what is in front of us, and within us, and around us. It doesn’t help anyone to miss out on the connection available in front of us.
As we continue through this Holiday Season, maybe take this as an invitation to consider if/how you want to set aside some time, money or resources to take steps forward in caring for the people or advocating for issues in our world that are important to you, and, to develop a mantra that will invite you to presence to those in front of you, when everything threatens to distract.
After all, some days are for Disney World, but most aren’t.
