Vacation Planning

There are still plenty of presents to wrap, cookies to bake, and even a few gifts left to pick up. But today while Kate napped (Meg is with the grandparents), I took a few minutes to work on a little of our Disney vacation planning.

At http://www.disneyworld.com/ , you can request a free vacation planning DVD. Free? Why not? So, I ordered it back when we first started the prep for this trip, and it arrived earlier this week. It's been sitting on the desk in our kitchen, calling my name. I finally put it in the DVD player and started to watch just bits and pieces of it this afternoon . . .

. . . and I started crying.

What?!

I'm going to be a mess when we get to Orlando. I think I can hold it together when we are arriving and through the first night . . . but that next morning, when we wake up and make our way over to the Magic Kingdom, I'm freakin' going to lose it.

In the planning DVD, there are many scenes of little girls running into the arms of their beloved princesses, all dressed in their own princess garb. Other kids are hugging Mickey and Minnie like they are never going to let go. I just picture Meg . . . all in awe, so amazed, so happy. And I start to get teary-eyed. (Yes, even now as I write this.)

I feel so lucky that our family can give this to our kids . . . that we are able to take them to experience something that is so amazing for them. This is what I dreamed of, when I thought of having a family. Taking my kids to Disney -- or anywhere -- and watching them have the time of their lives.

I've been told my many (Negative Nancys, I call them), "You know, Meg is not even going to remember this trip to Disney." I realize that. How many memories of anything before the age of about 6 do we really have? It's all about the moment for kids, and we are going to live it up in the moment at Disney. She won't remember -- and I could care less. I'll remember. Selfishly, this trip is as much for Jim and I as it is for her.

Kate, well . . . I do know that this trip means little for her. But she will have a great time, riding around, seeing new things and enjoying being with our family. That is good enough for me. We'll take her back when she is Meg's age . . . and she will get her turn to gawk at the wonder that is Disney.

I'm just so very excited. We have our rooms booked, the plane tickets are in process (Jim's job, Delta patron that he is), and we have several dining reservations already set. Theme Park ickets still need to be purchased. And we need to sit down (again, at Disney.com) and look into their little kid planning while we work on our itenrary. I want to be sure we don't miss anything while we are there. The trip is going to be as low key as we can make it, traveling with 2 girls so young . . . so I want to plan as much as we can before we go. Then, when we arrive, we just go and have fun.

I can't wait. I guess I should go watch more of the DVD, if I can compose myself long enough. Maybe I'll let Meg watch it when she comes home so that she can get an idea of what she's going to experience. She already knows we are going to have breakfast with Cinderella in "Feb-wary" . . . but, she has no idea what she's in for.

Disney Countdown: 69 days and counting.