Vacation Lessons

Lesson: Personal space bubbles need to be respected. 

Some rides are more popular and people would run and push to get to their space in line. Once there, they still seemed hurried and kept bumping into the people in front of them. I call this ' people tail-gating'. Normally I'd smack someone for touching my rear end... but it was usually a child with no parental guidance or a parent with their attention on their PHONE.


Lesson: Parenting, there's NOT an APP for that!

I'd see a Mom and Dad with their heads lowered looking into their 'smart' phones while their kids' behavior went wild in line. Over and over, they'd lift up their heads long enough to yell at their kids to 'come on, move forward' and then put their heads down to see their phones again. Wow! That is real, quality time, huh. It was really sad for the kids and painful for us watching/feeling them.


 Lesson: Enjoy the journey along the way, not just the destination.

At one point we found ourselves pulled into the frenzy around us. We were rushing around to get from point A to point B and I had a minor 'fit'. I didn't have the physical or emotional stamina to handle it.

People get so caught up in trying to 'do' everything that we can't enjoy the journey along the way. So, we slowed down. There's no way one can 'do it all', and do it happily. The let down is not missing out on an attraction, it's if you don't enjoy things and the people you are with.

Lesson: Be friendly, but don't be creepy.

I'm a t-shirt girl and many of my shirts have a Christian theme to them. One fellow asked about my shirt and church. I explained our church was in Oklahoma and thought that would end it. It didn't. He thought he knew someone from our area. He started asking if we knew so-and-so, how/when we moved here, etc. He continued to ask my husband what he did, where he got his education and where he worked!

I noticed he had a lot of questions but didn't offer much of his own information. I shut down around people like this. To me, it seems stalker-like. My husband took over the conversation and I focused on my daughter.

HOWEVER, I know that being friendly opens us up to fun experiences. There are so many different cultures and countries represented at large parks. In front of us was a lady and girl that had accents that were so fun to listen to. My daughter loves British accents (HAHA) and thought maybe they were from England.

Too shy to ask for herself, I leaned over and asked the little girl where they were from. New Zealand, she said, and we four girls had a lovely chat.

My husband wasn't in line for this ride...TOWER OF TERROR...and I was indeed terrified. The little girl was so sweet. She grabbed my hand and 'helped' me through the line as my comforter and guide since she had already been on the ride earlier. HAHAHA!

The lady was her Aunt and she struck up conversations with my daughter about homeschooling and her future plans. I think she now has a new opinion that not all homeschoolers are 'on the fringe of society' or 'odd balls'.

It was a lovely experience...meeting the family...not the ride. ;-)