When you wish upon a star...

When I was five, Walt Disney was still alive and had a weekly TV show that everyone loved. We watched it without fail. In 1954, after months of Disneyesque hype- that, at least, hasn't changed- Uncle Walt announced the opening of Disneyland. I lived in Michigan, the eldest of five kids- my folks were never going to take me to Disneyland- but I didn't know that. I asked for Disneyland for birthdays, for Christmas, and entered any contest that had a trip to Disneyland as a prize until I finally conceded defeat at the age of 13. When Disneyworld opened, I was massively disinterested, even though I had since moved to Tennessee and could drive there in a matter of hours. A couple of times my hubby and I actually started to secretly plan a trip to Disneyworld- secretly, because we didn't want our kids to be disappointed if the trip didn't happen, and it didn't. Dave's job, my mother's failing health, financial reverses... needless to say, we never went. Years passed, and we were going to take the grandkids to Disneyworld. Haley, at five, was old enough to do her own walking. Disneyworld was still a sorry second to my mind, but it was closer and therefore cheaper. We had a date in October planned. October 2001. After 9/11, I was too frightened to take my children and grandchilden to any place so ostentatiously American as Disney-anything. We canceled the trip. Now, in just a few weeks, my son and his family will join my daughter, my hubby and I in San Diego, from whence we shall journey to Anaheim, in time for the 50th anniversary of Disneyland. I am alternately as excited as a kid, and as stressed as a cat in a room full of rocking chairs. I am holding my breath that no emergency comes up, that the flight isn't canceled, that we all stay well. And I am so hoping Disneyland will not disappoint. When you have wanted something your whole life, it cannot help but be a bit anticlimactic when you finally get it. Fortunately, I will be seeing my life's dream through four pairs of child's eyes. That must surely make it worth the wait, don't you think?