I have now been writing my reviews for over five months. Some days, what I want to write about comes easily. Sometimes, I've been to a movie or watched a new tv show, which makes them the perfect review. Other days, I struggle to find something, not feeling inspired by anything I've experienced that day. Some of my most read reviews are the product of some random moment from my day, such as Mark and his bear puppet. Tonight, I was struggling, not knowing what I wanted to write about. I was killing time on the Disboards, when I discovered a story about a young man who rode Snow White's Scary Adventure 3500 times.
Just out of curiosity, I clicked on it. I figured I would skim it and then wander off to some other Disney topic. What I found instead was a story that made me cry. I am still sitting here sobbing, and I am a pretty cynical person. When I read about people crying over stuff they read on the internet, I usually scoff on this inside. Sometimes, however, there are stories that can truly move me. The tale of this young man is one of those stories.
While it is quite long, you should read about his adventure. You can start here, where the father writes up a good back-story. We learn who his son is, his situation, and his experiences with Snow White's Scary Adventures. I know it is long, but it is worth it. There is a good chance it won't affect you as it has me, but it's still a testament to how wonderful people can be. You should then continue by reading about his final evening with Snow White's Scary Adventure.
In its entirety, the story is touching and full of people who have touched this young man's life for no benefit to their own. I constantly question humanity, and I appreciate when someone or something comes along and reminds me that there are good people out there. There are people that care about others because it is the right thing to do, not because they get anything from it.
That concludes my actual review. You should go read about that young man's story because it's good for your soul. That being said, I'm going to try and figure out why it meant so much to me. Sobbing at my computer isn't generally how I spend my evenings. It's might get all "feelingy" in here, so you may want to turn back now.
So, what is it about this story that has evoked such a response? Why did I search for a way to make this my review, even though it's not really a normal thing to reviews? I have a profound love of Disney. When my parents were kids, their respective families didn't really treat them to family vacations. My dad got to go to the fair, after the chores were done. My mom got to go to Conneaut Lake Park sometimes.* When they got married, providing their children with a family vacation was something they decided to make happen, no matter how difficult.
My parents married in mid-January and vacationed in Florida at the end of the month.** The following December I showed up, followed by Ryan a handful of years later.*** At this point, trips to Walt Disney World in Florida became standard, eventually happening annually. There were some missed years, but for the most part, it was an event we could count on. Where a lot of kids grew out of Disney, we never did. Ryan and I have always loved being at Disney with the family and probably always will. We just associate it so much with time with our parents and each other that it is our vacation destination of choice. It's less about the actual location and more about the nostalgia.
A little over ten years into my silly little life, Casey joined us, and the poor boy has had more problems than Carter had liver pills. He had pneumonia before he was a year old, which led to the discovery of his heart murmur. This was later discovered to be a hole between the upper two chambers of his heart that required operation by the time he was one. Thankfully, he came through the surgery okay.
Years later, once Mark had entered the picture, Casey was struggling in school. He did the best he could, but he was not having an easy of a time as Ryan and I had. Mark thought he maybe had a learning disorder, but through a terrible hardship, we learned he was actually autistic. He is very high functioning, but it still makes me sad to think he may never have a normal life. Of course, who is to decide what a normal life is? He seems pretty happy, and he even has a job. He's socially awkward and will fixate on things, but he's doing very well now.
I think reading a story about a young man with autism who found something good at Disney just hit me. Casey has never had the love for Disney that Ryan and I have, but he still enjoys it, and we've had some great trips. For those memories, I will always love Disney, and I hope to one day take my children on trips with my family to Disney. There is no guarantee that they will love it as I do, but that's okay. I just want them to have the experience, to make up their own minds.
Of course, Mark and I don't have children right now. It's a topic of discussion, but babies are expensive. With student loans looming, it's a hard decision to make. I also have an irrational fear. My parents didn't drink or smoke. They're pretty healthy people, yet my brother is autistic. It's not the end of the world, as I've said before, but my irrational girl brain worries that I will have autistic children. I am now older than my mother was when she birthed Casey, and it the possibilities weigh upon me. My crazy girl brain loves to insist that I'll be a terrible mother and my babies with actually be kittens or vampires.**** I think having these fears and seeing a family with a child with more severe autism than my brother find something so simple that made him happy gives me hope. No matter what happens, it will be okay.
If you've read this far, I'm sorry I blathered on so much. I appreciate that you took the time to listen though. I just hope you also took the time to read a bit of that boy's story. While it may have only resonated with me because I saw bits and pieces of my life and fears in it, it's still a nice story.
(On a side note, if anyone from my family happens to be reading this, I love you all very much. I miss you, and I can't wait to see you. Thank you for everything.)
* I believe someone threw up on the Ferris wheel once.
** If I have some of my time-lines or stories off a bit, work with me here! I'm going off of remembered stories. I'm not fact checking.
*** He's my twin, but he decided to incubate a bit longer in the womb before his debut.
**** Dreams are weird, ok??
Love you, Holly. <3
ReplyDeleteThe feeling is mutual!
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