Tuesday, February 15, 2011

A bit of Disney Magic

At Disneyland, I saw a beautiful girl of about fourteen. She was waiting for the Cinderella's Carousel with her mum and dad. As the gate opened, her dad picked her up out of her wheelchair and helped her up onto a horse. A pretty, pink horse with his mane flowing in the imaginary breeze. And as I watched, tears came down my face. A year ago, I might not have thought much of the scene, or I might have looked away, not eager to be seen looking at someone who was disabled. It's hard to remember exactly what I would have done, that was a lifetime ago. 

Instead, I watched. I was struck by the love in this family, the tender way that the father held his daughter and supported her as she went around and around. I was moved by the grin on the girl's face, she was obviously loving the ride. And I was happy with them - they were obviously having the time of their lives there.

I felt no pity for her or for this family. They obviously weren't feeling sorry for themselves. They were having a wonderful holiday together. I wanted to run up to them and tell them what their devotion to each other meant to me, how I'm a new member of this "special needs parent club" and I'm still learning the ropes - but I just watched in silent appreciation. I will remember her with fondness - the princess who left her throne for a while to ride a horse instead.

8 comments:

  1. Awesome post, Nicole. You already made me cry this morning.

    Monica Fuqua

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  2. You have a lovely way with words and imagery Nicole - also tearing up this morning!

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  3. Lovely post.

    My son is one of the few people I know who would actually go and interact with someone in a wheel chair and enquire after them (in the nicest possible way), so far he's always got wonderful responses in return because they're so glad that someone doesn't just gawk and point but actually talks to them. I hope he can keep this facility. I can't imagine what it would be like to be noticed but "ignored"

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  4. Hi! I'm visiting from TRDC linky.
    Thank you so much for sharing that moment at Disney - and how it touched you.
    Truly nice to meet you - following you now on GFC.
    Cate from Real Life with Kids

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  5. What a great post! Its amazing how people you don't know can make such and impact on your life, and they don't even know it.

    Visiting from TRDC.

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  6. A great post . . . I'm having a bit of "a day," and I literally have tears running down my face. Having a child with a mobility impairment, the big "W" remains sort of a BIG fear for me. No one has told us yet that she won't walk (in fact all seem to think she will) but as she gets older, I feel more and more afraid (she's two and a half). Reading this makes me say, "okay, so maybe she will, but if not . . . so what?" Happy, safe and loved. That's the important stuff. I love your blog, and love following your journey.

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  7. Great post, Nicole. So touching it made me cry.

    God bless...

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