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The initial enthusiasm was immediately tempered by the rude parking-lot awakening. Isn't that how the New Year's resolutions often work? But, we were not completely deterred by that hump. As I said, we were desperate and we paid big bucks, so whether we like it or not, we were going to HAVE FUN!!
And we did have fun. We quickly discovered the rides that gave us the biggest bang for our bucks and focused on those - the Hulk, the Rip Rockit, the Dragon Challenge. The Mummy.
Soon, however, the law of diminishing returns kicked in.
And we did have fun. We quickly discovered the rides that gave us the biggest bang for our bucks and focused on those - the Hulk, the Rip Rockit, the Dragon Challenge. The Mummy.
Soon, however, the law of diminishing returns kicked in.
Do we have to go there
AGAIN?, some of us whined more than others. It’s too hot. It’s too cold. We’ve already
been there a million times (some of us have greater propensity towards exaggeration). We’ve already seen everything there is to see. I am tired of having fun. I just want to be home.
I admit that some bribing was being employed. And some manipulating and even guilting. I am not proud of it.
And then came the last day. We all knew this was the end. Nobody needed to be forced to get ready. Nobody whined. Nobody complained. There was no need for bribing. We just all agreed that we will leave before the crowds and try to make it home to catch the ball at New York Times Square before it falls.
We walked the familiar streets with fresh bittersweet awareness – noticing this detail here and that detail there for the first time, even though we walked right past it at least a million times before. We rode Hulk, screaming until our throats hurt, to the horror of giggling teenage girls from Bolivia sitting in the row behind us. We offered to take a family photo inside Hogwarts Express to a family of five from Japan. When they kindly tried to reciprocate, and thus our conversation started, they were wonder-struck to meet somebody who is so lucky to actually live here.
You are right. We are lucky. And...we don't deserve it...
We realized we never saw Poseidon’s Fury and Grinchmas and never bought a wand… and then it was time to leave.
I admit that some bribing was being employed. And some manipulating and even guilting. I am not proud of it.
And then came the last day. We all knew this was the end. Nobody needed to be forced to get ready. Nobody whined. Nobody complained. There was no need for bribing. We just all agreed that we will leave before the crowds and try to make it home to catch the ball at New York Times Square before it falls.
We walked the familiar streets with fresh bittersweet awareness – noticing this detail here and that detail there for the first time, even though we walked right past it at least a million times before. We rode Hulk, screaming until our throats hurt, to the horror of giggling teenage girls from Bolivia sitting in the row behind us. We offered to take a family photo inside Hogwarts Express to a family of five from Japan. When they kindly tried to reciprocate, and thus our conversation started, they were wonder-struck to meet somebody who is so lucky to actually live here.
You are right. We are lucky. And...we don't deserve it...
We realized we never saw Poseidon’s Fury and Grinchmas and never bought a wand… and then it was time to leave.
At the time we had no idea. Our desperate New Year's resolution became a bitter-sweet time-capsule of a lifetime condensed into 365
days. We had a ton of fun. We became tired and resentful. We lost our perspective and our wheels a time or two. But, on the last day, on the very last day, we realized we walked by so
much without really seeing it. We heard
so much, without ever understanding.
Which makes me wonder if this year...
...perhaps...
...I could try...
...living...
...right here...
...right now...
like it's my last day?
Which makes me wonder if this year......perhaps...
...I could try...
...living...
...right here...
...right now...
like it's my last day?
The end of a matter is better than its beginning; patience of spirit is better than haughtiness of spirit. Ecclesiastes 7:8
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