I haven't really said a lot about WHY I decided to take a trip to Florida. Yes, people know I am doing a run there, and meeting friends, but that is such a small part of it.
When I was a young mom trying to figure out how to I was to fulfill my new role, I felt very lost. I had a friend who would wander the aisles of Babies r Us with me, or I would sit in the car while my daughter slept. I didn't have an "easy" baby, and it made me stressed out. I had been good at everything I had applied myself to before then, and I always had success. But no amount of reading, studying, or work was going to make my baby sleep more than an hour at a time, or cry unless she was held to my body. I didn't plan to be a "crunchy" mom before I had my daughter, and here I was navigating the waters of co-sleeping, baby wearing, and more.
I went to a small playgroup each week at church. Since all the moms had infants, it was more like a chat circle. One of the moms dressed her daughter so cutely, and of course we asked her about her daughter's wardrobe. She started telling us all about Gymboree, and this awesome board she was on where they would help you learn HOW to shop Gymboree (unless you have a money tree, and can just pay full price). She loved the board and wanted to share it with us.
I went home and joined the board. It wasn't easy ;) I believe I needed a reference, and I had to paypal .01 to show I had a paypal account in good standing. I had no idea why all this for a clothing board.
Once I was officially a member of the board I realized it was something way more than a place to talk clothes. It was a place to form friendships, vent about problems, rejoice in successes, and commiserate troubles. The moms on the board taught me over time how to stop comparing my child to other children, how my baby girl may have troubles sleeping through the night, or troubles potty training, or troubles with anything, but that in the end she would have successes too. I learned to value the child I had, as I read of moms who struggled with secondary infertility. I laughed, I cried, I posted, and I lurked ;) (webbies know what the heck that is).
One of the moms in particular was very memorable. She took the most amazing photos, and she had three gorgeous kids. She worked as a photographer in Florida, and followed her dreams by moving to Hawaii with her family. I was taken by her ability to grab life! She didn't wait for things to happen, she made them happen. I was comforted by her beautiful children, as I thought since she had made it through maybe I would too? Someday would it be the smiles of my tweens showing up in my siggy? I remember in particular a photo of her son jumping into a pool, eyes bright, face smiling, executing a perfect cannonball.
Over time the board slowed down. Facebook became popular and most people moved there. We lost track of each other and outgrew our love of Gymboree. Then, recently, someone decided to make a page for us on Facebook. We could have our group right there where everyone was already checking! It was fun to see how people's children had grown, what turns their life had taken, etc. The mom from Hawaii? She designed our page logo.
A short while after the group got going we got some devastating news. Holly, the mom I describe above, had passed away. It was sudden, unexpected, and shocking to us all. How could this vibrant mother and amazing woman be taken like that? I think that day all of us stared at our own mortality a bit. There were tears, care packages, and lots of love sent to her family.
One day, someone (and I don't remember who), suggested we have a Cove meet up to honor Holly. We decided Disney World would be the perfect place, and that we would do it on the Disney Run weekend and all walk the 5K in her memory. The Cove had a lot of members, and many of us started making plans to go. I was planning to travel with a local friend, and we would drive to Chicago or Indy and fly into Orlando. As time passed, some people realized they weren't going to be able to make it, for a variety of reasons. Unfortunately, my friend and roommate was one of those. I decided I would have to skip the trip. My migraines are unpredictable, and I have scary bad night vision, so I was worried about what would happen if I had a migraine hit while I was in Indy or Chicago.
My wonderful Disney Travel Agent was also a member of the group, and she, along with the one person I'd met in real life (the wonderful Suzanne!) decided that I WOULD come. Suzanne called and talked me down (I am so shy when I don't know people!!!) and Heather helped me iron out the arrangements. In the end, I flew directly from South Bend to Orlando-ish (Sanford), got a ride from my amazing new friends, and was put together with a new roommate who also had an existing roommate who couldn't make it.
Guys, I'm not going to lie, I was nervous. Really, really, nervous. What if I didn't get along with my room mate? What if I didn't get along with anyone? Would I be hanging out at Disney by myself? Looking back that is so laughable, because everything was perfect, just the way it should be.
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