Well, we did it. That famous right of passage that every family must take at some point: The Big Family Vacation. Not a day trip to Grandma's. Not a weekend jaunt to the Omaha Zoo. I'm talkin' a BIG one. Those of you who've made such a trip know that there's only a few places in the US from Iowa that really qualify as a Big Trip. Mount Rushmore/South Dakota is one. The Grand Canyon is another. If you're really in a pinch you could go to either coast and it would count. But we ALL know that the Holy Grail of all family vacations is a Disney Vacation. And that's what we did.
The hubby and I took both our boys to Disney World. What the hell we were smokin' when we thought this was a good, feasible plan is beyond me. But when your mind is in Disney Mode you have visions of the 4 of you, one big happy family, frolicking thru the Magic Kingdom, riding rides, eating treats, taking pictures galore, dancing with Mickey, me dressed as a Princess..... but I digress. You have all these pictures in your head and you conveniently forget about THESE things: heat, money, car travel, lines, strangers, tired legs, sore feet, B.O., crabby kids, crabby husband, crabby you and a million other things categorized under "Real Life" that threaten your perfect ideal of Disney Vacation.
If you're willing to put up with these unfortunate interruptions from Real Life (as we did) then and only then, can you truly forge ahead on you family vacay. Oh, I admit, there were a couple times I tried to ditch at least one of member of my family when we were there. Unfortunately, they always seemed to find their way back to me. (Dammit.) I tell ya, by the last half hour of the trip home- which we all know is the loooongest- I was ready to push all 3 of them to the side of the road and wish 'em the best of luck. And considering that lunch every day was over $30 (and that's for a basic meal of burgers and fries!) for all of us I considered at one point an even swap of my youngest child for our meal. But that was a no go.
I now file our Disney Vacation under the same file in my mind as roller coaster rides and both of my kids' births. Let me tell you why. After all the pain, suffering, uncomfortableness, sweat and tears, I now have nothing in my head but happy memories, nothing in my camera but smiles and fun, and nothing in my heart but a desire to go back and do it again.
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