We got home from our Disney trip last night, and I just wanted to say hello. I missed you guys!

It'll take me awhile to catch up on life, but I just wanted to pop in. I'll catch up on the threads little by little.

It was a long drive (19 hours), but the kids did great. I absolutely LOVE disney world. We just did a little bit each day, lots of swimming in the condo pool, and playing games when the storms rolled in. My preschooler's favorite part of the trip was playing Mr. Potato head in the condo rec room and playing in the Winnie the pooh ride waiting area. We got to the parks early every morning it wasn't raining, so it wasn't crowded at all. It made me sad to see parents rushing their little ones through the fun play area to get to the ride because there was no wait. My son enjoyed the play area as much as the ride -- or more!

And, in true blanket girl form, I cried every day. Happy things make me cry. Waiting for toy story mania and hearing the toy story music totally got me crying. One of my 9-year olds asked me what was wrong, and I tried to explain how happy I was to be there with him. And the toy story music -- well, any of you who saw Toy Story 3 can appreciate my tears!

****trigger warning - child abuse ****

I felt very sad at several times on the trip watching parents yelling at their kids at "the happiest place on earth." Very young children being rushed from here to there when they just wanted to stop and enjoy the moment.

One dad was yelling so hard at his son, my husband actually walked over and put his hand on the dad's shoulder and very gently said, "You're making memories here, dad. Make sure they're good ones." The dad stopped and looked stunned...then sad. I have never been so proud of my husband.

And at another point in the parking lot, I was completely triggered. We were on our way back to the condo for naps...around one o'clock. Another mom and her young preschool son were on their way in, and they were stopped on the sidewalk. The boy was crying hysterically and the mom had him by the shoulders and was yelling at him to "stop crying right now."

I wanted to go over and show her my therapy receipts in my purse and tell her to start saving up now. To this day I have a hard time crying when I'm upset because I "wasn't allowed." And, darnit, the kid was exhausted. It was naptime and hotter than blazes.

I didn't say anything, but kind of wish I would have. It made me unbearably sad.

**********

But, overall, such a good family trip for us. Our kids were troopers on the 19 hour car ride.

We watched the entire 1st season of the Jetsons on dvd. And, yeah, I crawled back in the van and watched with them for part of the way.

Anyway, just wanted to check in! It's good to be home!

BG!!
Awesome to have you back! I'm so glad you had such a great time, and it sounds like you know how to do Disney right. Don't try to do everything, just slow down and really enjoy what you can do. (And I really hear you about the line for the Pooh ride. My younger daughter, who has been a Pooh fan her whole life, just came back from a trip to Disney with her friends that was a combo Graduation/18th Birthday gift, said that the waiting area was just awesome, so much so that she wanted the line to be longer!)

quote:

One dad was yelling so hard at his son, my husband actually walked over and put his hand on the dad's shoulder and very gently said, "You're making memories here, dad. Make sure they're good ones." The dad stopped and looked stunned...then sad. I have never been so proud of my husband.

I've never met your husband and I'm proud of him. He sounds like a really good man. I am impressed that he stood up for that child, but even more so that he managed to do so in a way which was also compassionate for the father. He'll probably never know just how large an impact he had on that child's life.

And I'm sorry about the crying child. I feel the same way when I see parents treating their children that way, even down to the "to you have any idea how many years of therapy it's going to take to get over what you're doing to your child?" Don't be too hard on yourself for not speaking up, it's a delicate situation coming between a parent and their child and usually doesn't work out as well as it did with your husband. You usually just end up getting called obscene names.

I am glad that you were able to be so happy that you cried (totally with you on Toy Story 3) while at the same time being able to feel sadness and grief for the pain around you. You sound very alive.

It's good to have you back, really missed you!

AG

Hi BG,

Lovely to hear from you and to hear about your trip. I've never been to Disney, but it sounds amazing.... and very well worth that long car journey too. OMG what an amazing thing your husband did and said, I have just read it out to my husband and we are both sending cheers to him across the water. BG, I have walked round the supermarket many a time with tears in my eyes watching and listening to how parents are speaking to and behaving with their children
Thank goodness for people like your husband to be brave enough to start to make a change.

starfish

Welcome back BG!!
So glad you had fun at Disney. I want to go, too!
It's really lovely what your husband did. It's a very understanding way of telling this dad that he isn't doing his best right now.
19 hour car ride sounds hell-ish, but I'm glad it wasn't like that for you.

I think I'll go to Disneyland Paris to check it out this all made me wanna go even more!
How many days would you need to see all of it?

quote:

You sound very alive.

Yes, AG. This is it. I feel very alive, and this is amazing!

My husband is awesome. He said the guy just looked like a good dad, and the kid looked confused, so he took a risk guessing that the dad WAS a good guy caught in a bad moment...

And the lady, well, unfortunately it felt too risky to confront her. I do wish I had said something. It hurts to see children treated so badly.

Starfish -- if you ever have the chance, go to disney! It's so much fun!! Thanks for the cheers for my husband. He really is a good man.

Permafrost -- 19 hours does sound hellish. We ate a lot of mcdonalds, split it up into two days, and watched A LOT of dvds! I think disney in paris is smaller. If it's like the U.S., they make it cheaper to go multiple days. Try one or two and see how it is! We did 5 days in disney world, but only 6 hours a day in the parks, average.

Welcome home BG!!

Glad the trip was full of happy memories - and it sounds like your H opened the door for at least one other family to have happier memories rather than the alternative. I have only been to Disney once, but I love, love, loved it!

It always gets me when people are like that in public - they don't think anyone watches or notices, but sometimes it's hard not to.

19 hours?! Well, the Jetson's are awesome, so I guess that is helpful

Anyway, welcome home!

BG ~ It's wonderful to hear about your trip! Welcome back!!! ~jd

p.s. It's hard for me too when I see parents being cruel to thier kids. That was super amazing what your husband did.

Welcome back! I'm proud of your H too. That's so awesome. Have a lot of Disneyland memories, some good and some bad. Glad you guys made some good ones!