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| Ever's first trip to Disneyland was sponsored by: Grandma Grandma supports the arts and education of small grandchildren through play and experience since 1994 |
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| The whole pack showed up, later than we planned because of me, Mom. Hi, I'm Mom. I slept in until 8, and then made everyone go to Starbucks AND Target, to get Ever an Etch A Sketch for the car trip. We didn't arrive until almost noon. No one complained. This was accomplished through years of Mom being relentlessly late for pretty much every occasion and event known to Man, including the births of her own children, because who can leave for the hospital without the right pillow? Also accomplished through: profound resignation, illness bringing everyone down a notch, too happy to care, and lastly, love. Mom also made the mistake of not listening to her firstborn daughter, Lola Moon, who gently and cheerfully suggested that we ' make a list of what to do! ' Which was shot down by everyone, including Mom, who later, after hours and hours of wandering around the park in a undignified, overheated, exhausted and futile effort to please all the people, all the time, thought to herself that next time, she'd listen to her daughter. First Ride: It's A Small World Ever LOVED it. She was exactly as enthralled, mesmerized and overjoyed by the entire Disneyland experience as we all had hoped she was. It must have looked odd-- an entire family of five people with goofy grins staring at one small person for an entire ride. LOOK! SHE LIKES IT! The day was gorgeous, sunny, and we all ate our home brought snacks and walked around before sitting for a little lunch. |
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| Let's stand in line for twenty minutes to meet Goofy! I DON"T WANT TO LOOK AT THE STRANGE CREATURE WITH LONG EARS AND BAD TEETH! Let's eat Mickey Mouse ice cream instead. |
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It was one of those trips where things were slightly off for all of us- with the enormous exception of Ever, who could live at Disneyland. Ian, Lola, Ed and Dakota all felt ill, having been fighting the barrage of various diseases going around the last month. Dakota was also bumming for personal reasons although he put a good face on and was polite, generous and kind the entire day. It's hard for me to feel how proud I am of him, how much I love him, out there in the world on his own-- it is where the expression ' fit to burst ' came from. I myself have been battling The Autoimmune Stuff for a while now, so eight straight hours of standing and walking in the direct sun made me feel very unwell, surreal and frustrated that I couldn't enjoy it more. That passed quickly, and the realization that It Is What It Is helped me settle in and accept what I felt, and enjoy the parts that I could. Lola was having a pretty good case of The Anxieties, and also handled it well. Mr. Curry got progressively sicker until he lost his voice entirely, and yet never used it to complain. We all shouldered our various complaints good naturedly for the most part, and were able to really enjoy the parts that were there to enjoy. The kids took turns remarking ' Even so, we are so lucky to be here! ' or after a brief complaint of head hurting or stomach hurting ' But we are all together, and so lucky to be here! ' I was proud of my kids, and proud of Mr. Curry and I for working hard over the years to model gratitude and perspective and manners. Over the years there have been fit throwing, bad manners and ingratitude for sure, ( and will be more, with Lola and Ever so young still ) but sometimes it all comes together and you see that what you are teaching is sinking in. I was definitely the worst behaved of the lot-- by the end of the day I felt awful, sun sick despite sunblock, aching all over and frustrated by a serious of problems with accessing our money, Ever refusing to sit in her stroller ( only tantrum of the day ), a recurrence of guilt that I couldn't just BE HAPPY in the happiest place on the earth that someone else payed for, holy hell, huge blisters on my feet and realizing that I had put myself in the position of going on no rides all day ( Mr. Curry tried, but I was flustered and wouldn't decide on anything ) I think I actually stomped my feet taking Ever and her potty into the bathroom while everyone tried to figure out how to get ahold of our money. I'm so ashamed. But the moment passed and I rallied and Dakota slung his arm around me and said Mom, it's cool, you're doing great, and I was then overwhelmed with the blissful and surreal reality that I had raised a son who understood, in some part, what it is to be The Mom in these situations, and I laughed and the moment passed. |
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| Lola, Ever and Mr. Curry on Dumbo. They had so much fun! And I got to stand with my boys and talk and watch. |
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| This was an awesome moment- we watched the end part of a Star Wars show, and I had a mocha frap while Ever had Mickey Mouse ice cream. |
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| The big three kids were off on their own for a few hours, and us three ran into the parade- which, again, Ever loved. Magic. |
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| Ever has a love for fountains, and the one at Toon Town kept her occupied while Mr Curry waited in line to meet Minnie Mouse. |
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| She was enthralled with the dishwasher in Minnie's house. |
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| Meeting Minnie was so, so sweet. Minnie is Ever's favorite, next to Mickey. She asks to watch Minnie's Bowtique every day, dresses like Minnie, has Minnie books, etc. So this was a big moment in her two years of life. Which she wanted Daddy to do with her, not Mommy. Not that I minded. Or anything. Sniff. She wanted Daddy all day! It was sweet to watch-- all day, every time she went on a ride or saw a character, she reached for Daddy. Lola complained too, about the lack of Ever holding on rides. The last ride was the Nemo submarine ride-- we all went on this one. It's such a good ride to end the trip with. Soothing and cheerful, the girls both glued the whole time. |
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