I am going to work on my procrastination. I'll start first thing tomorrow morning.

Yes, we did. And doesn't that look good.

I tell you, sell your stock in pulled pork quesadillas and sesame, ginger, Asian, Thai chicken wings. Flatbreads will be the next big craze.

I want to go back.

Chapter Three: What we did. Subtitled "No kiddin', no kids".

So, was it different at WDW without kids?

Sure. And for us that difference was pace and purpose.

We would wake up in the morning without the hurry to get 4 people ready and out the door. We would head out on the balcony and watch the World come alive. We would look over the railing and see families dashing to start their day and complete their scheduled plans. But for us, we got to linger. Our schedule was that we would have no schedule. We lingered in bed a few extra minutes. We lingered over coffee. We lingered over meals. (Something you could never do with kids). Families rushing to the monorail, but not us. We knew we would get where we were going, eventually.

And when we got to a park, we moved at our pace. And the best description of our pace would be that we strolled. We strolled up Main Street and saw shops we had never seen before because we were running for a ride or running to get a FastPass.

We strolled around World Showcase. (We actually saw Off Kilter. Not just a song or a part of a song, we saw an entire show). We strolled into the Rose & Crown for a pint. (Truth be told, it was two).

We had a margarita in Mexico and played the Ugly Shoe game. (Come on, you've all done it. Found a bench and people watched, looking for the ugliest pair of shoes in the park). And no, people watching is not lurking.

We strolled to Hollywood Studios. If you've never done the walk from Epcot to the Studios, you should. The scenery is beautiful, the walk is easy and you can enjoy the Boardwalk on your way.

We spent a couple of hours on the Pangani Forest Exploration Trail. My wife loves birds and we were in the bird section for over an hour as she chatted with a CM about different species.

As for our purpose, it wasn't about rides or shows or parades. It was about leaving work and worries, kids and deadlines at the gate and spending time together. Just the two of us.

Happy to be in this Magic place. Happy to be where we are in our lives. Happy to still be with each other.

more to follow.

One of my favorite things about WDW is their attention to the smallest details. By slowing down a bit you notice these things. It can be something as simple as light fixtures. There are so many different ones. And it never ceases to amaze me, how they always pick the perfect one to create a mood, to enhance a theme.

Maybe that should be our next photo thread on here. "My favorite Disney light fixture".

You don't even have to walk all the way. Walk to the Boardwalk, grab a refreshment at Big River Grill, and take the boat the rest of the way

Chapter Four: The Anniversary. Subtitled "Badges! We don't need.....".

When we checked in, we were given the standard information packet that everyone receives. Ours included two "Happy Anniversary" buttons. All of you have seen people wearing them, announcing birthdays, just married, first visits, etc..

We went up to our room to put our carry-on's inside and check things out. We went on to the balcony and saw MK. It was gorgeous. We took pictures with our cellphones and sent them to the boys. (With the obligatory, NA...NA...NA...NA...NA).

She noticed that the message light was flashing on the room phone. She checked it (with that 'Please don't let it be the hometown Fire Department' look that only a mother of two teenagers can give).

She broke into a smile and said "You've got to hear this". She put it on Speakerphone and replayed it. It was a 'Happy Anniversary' message from Mickey and Minnie. Now, most people would call that stupid or corny, but stuff like that impresses the hell out of me. I love those little things that Disney does that sets it apart from the competition.

As we were leaving the room, I noticed the badges. I picked them up. She said "Seriously"? Now for the younger gentlemen in the audience, the female phrase 'seriously' has several possible meanings. And your ability to determine which meaning will go a long way in determining the health of your relationship. Possible meanings include, "you're not serious", "You're nuts", and "not a chance".

I told her that they were supposed to be magical. That good things would happen if we wore them. She agreed to wear them for the rest of the day. We put them on and went down to board the monorail.

There was no one waiting as we approached the gate. The young CM greeted us with, "Happy Anniversary! You folks just get into town"? My wife thought I set it up.

As we approached the security table at EPCOT, the guard said, "Happy Anniversary. Where are you folks from"? Now she was amazed.

And so began a constant barrage of 'Happy Anniversary's'. Usually followed by another question or comment. How many years? Are your kids here? Congratulations!

And when a CM found out it was our 30th and wrote that on the badges, the comments increased.

And it wasn't just from CM's. Perfect strangers walking by would give us a greeting.

Yes, we got a few special treats because we had them on, but the treatment we got from strangers was something we didn't expect. I guess you would call it magical.

More to follow.

Trust me, that will happen all to soon. It goes by so fast.

But I'll get into that in the next chapter.

More to follow.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas.

Now let's finish this thing.

When I posted the first section of this recap, I was sure that no one would read it. (Sort of, if a tree falls in the forest...). To see that it has been viewed over 750 times is surprising and flattering. Thank You.

Chapter Five: Post-deParting Depression. Subtitled "Doctor, I see hidden Mickey's in those inkblots".

Reflections kicked this off with a post a couple of weeks ago. And the responses, including mine, all centered around the unfulfillment caused by not doing everything that you hoped to do. About the desire to extend the trip another few days. We have all experienced that feeling. And we all have ways of coping with it.

Most mentioned the idea of beginning to plan the next visit as a way of overcoming that feeling. And I have certainly done that in the past.

But this funk runs a little deeper. And thinking about future trips may not help and may even exacerbate the feelings.

After every previous visit, we knew we would be back soon. Even when we skipped a year, (Mexico a couple of times, renting a house on the shore with my brothers and their families, the week-long family reunion), we knew we would be back.

The funk comes from the fact that I am not sure when we will return. There are two reasons for this:

Financial

This fall both boys will be in college. And the numbers we are looking at are difficult to swallow.

The oldest will graduate this fall from the local Community College. If he goes to the local state university to get his 4 year degree, we will be able to handle that. If he decides on a different local school, that will take some additional effort.

And then there's the young one. His desire is to play college baseball.

(How can that be? It was just 11 years ago that he was playing T-Ball against kids that thought home plate was for the after game meal. 7 years ago his summer team traveled 200 miles to lose every game. 3 years ago, he didn't sleep for 2 days worrying about making the high school team).

A song lyric repeats over and over in my head:

Tired of lying in the sunshine, staying home to watch the rain.
And you are young and life is long and there is time to kill today.
And then one day you find, ten years have got behind you,
No one told you when to run, you missed the starting gun

There are several Division-III schools that are recruiting him hard. (Now if you know about NCAA athletics, you are aware that D-III schools do not offer any athletic scholarships). Ohio only has a couple of D-II schools and their baseball programs are lacking. The D-I's (that's the big schools you see every week on TV) are aware of him, but none have stepped up to the plate. (Bad pun).

We made an official visit to one of these D-III schools last week. You meet with an admissions officer as part of the visit. When he says, "$32,850, not including books", you must force yourself to breathe again. You do the math in your head. That's over $130,00 (not including books) for the 4 years. We have visited a few of these schools and they are all priced in the same ballpark. (Another bad pun).

Now over the years we have put money into a 529 for each of them, but definitely not enough to cover $32,850 (not including books) for 4 years. He will get some money for academics, but we will still have a ways to go.

More to follow.

Northeastern Ohio.

We just visited Mount Union. (right before they lost the D-III National Championship in football). We have been to Heidelberg, Baldwin-Wallace, and will visit Marietta (the defending National Champs in baseball) in a couple of weeks.

We went to the Colorado-OSU game this fall. Took him to a large tailgate, then we walked the campus for 90 minutes. He just felt that it was way too big.

Ohio Wesleyan, down by you, is after him. But it's not a good fit academically.

They both have jobs and the schools that we have visited will assist in finding him on-campus work.

...and so the impending financial crunch may delay for awhile our return to the World.

Even if we tried to do it this year, (on a strict budget), I am not sure that we could arrange it. One starts school right after the New Year, the other mid-January. Their spring breaks are at different times, and the high school baseball team may make a spring break trip to Georgia to get a few games in before the season starts.

The high school season ends, and his summer league begins. (lots of college scouts, so he can't miss that). Not even considering their jobs, we are left with about a 2 week window in August. Don't think it's going to happen.

There is another reason for the funk...

The Changing Family

We returned from this grand trip, thrilled that we did it. I was downloading some pictures that I took and putting them in a Disney file, when I started looking at pictures from previous trips. I came across my all-time favorite of the boys. A spur of the moment, surprise shot that caught them with such happiness on their face that whenever we see the picture, we have to smile. That was the trip that they chased every character they could find for a photograph. The trip my son discovered Orange Chicken at the Lotus Blossom Cafe and had it more times than I care to mention. The trip that they fed the ducks at the resort each morning before we headed out. The trip where they would sit for hours and watch the woodcarver create works of art. And that trip was only 8 years ago. I would love to do it again.

Lizzy_B wrote:

Fasten your lapbelt young lady, you are about to take a very fast ride.

And then one day you find, ten years have got behind you,
No one told you when to run, you missed the starting gun

So if we have to wait for 4 years, what will that trip be like? I know what WDW will be like, but what will we be like?

Will High School have become college, have become grad school?
Will a part-time job have become a full-time job, have become a career?
Will the high school crushes have become girlfriends, have become more?

I can't wait to find out. But I think I'm going to have to.

Thanks for reading this. I hope that I've provoked a thought and maybe a smile.

There may be one more entry. My wife has not read this yet. I hoping to get her to post a comment about my little story. We shall see.

JeffC,

Thank you for taking the time to read my little recap. As a fan of your postings (and witticisms) over the past year, your kind words about my story are much appreciated.

Hoping you have a New Year filled with Magic!

crazycatperson. mrhub

Thanks so much for the responses. I am glad that you were motivated to post.

And since you are card-carrying (and dues-paying) members of the half century club (I've been a member for several years), your responses carry the extra knowledge that life's experiences bring.

(maybe at the next meeting, we can get the club to get the word 'inevitable' removed from the dictionary. It takes on much more of an ominous tone as you cross the 50 year line).

Some of what I wrote in the last chapter was what I felt on our return from a great trip, but I also wrote it as a message to the younger members of this site, to point out how quickly life goes by and how their lives are going to change............
inevitably.

So my wife finally read it.

Her comment? Very Good!

Now to those of you in the audience not familiar with the female phrase, "Very Good", there are several possible meanings. "Very good', 'Amazing, but I don't want you to get a big head', ' I was decorating the house for Christmas and you were doing this?' and the ever popular 'there's 30 minutes of my life I will never get back'.

I think I'll go with amazing.

I was chastised for not telling the 'Special Dessert' story. So to honor her suggestion, and maybe to score some rerun points, here is:

The Special Dessert story.

I had decided to surprise my wife with a 30th Anniversary gift sometime during the trip. The traditional gift for the 30th Anniversary is pearls. Now if you haven't shopped for pearls in awhile, (I've never done it), they now come in a variety of colors. I decided against the traditional white. Reminds me too much of June Cleaver.

Note:June Cleaver> Fictional TV character from the 1960's. Wife to Ward. Mother to Wallace and Theodore. Famous for constantly wearing pearls. Seen wearing them cooking breakfast, washing the car, mowing the lawn, etc. Unsure if she slept with them on, because 1960's TV was not allowed to show the bedroom for fear of...I don't know what they were afraid of...

Anyway. I chose a nice strand in a shade of brown called Chocolate. They came in a small white leather bag.

I decided to surprise her with them at our special dinner at the California Grill. When we were being seated, I grabbed a bread plate off the table and hid it under my leg.

Our waiter approached (remember Brian?), introduced himself and asked about drinks. While doing this he noticed a plate was missing, looked puzzled, excused himself, and went off to get another plate. (I hope some busser didn't get in trouble for setting the table wrong).

As we finished our entrees, Brian approached and asked for our dessert decisions.

I asked about a signature dessert that I had heard about. A small bag made of white chocolate with small beads of chocolate inside. He informed me that he had no such dessert. I said, "Are you sure? What are they having?" pointing to a table across the way. When he and my wife turned to look, I slipped the plate with the bag of pearls in front of her.

Brian said "Well done". And when I informed him that the plate they were on was the one that was missing, he laughed and said, "I knew I put 2 plates on this table"!

My wife was thrilled. And you can imagine the points I racked up. Dinner at Cali, fireworks, MK view and pearls? It was like a triple word score using the 'Q' and the 'Z'.

It was a trip we will never forget.