>My Real-Life Land

>Sometimes other adults ask me why I love Disney World so much. Sometimes, they get it — they’re Disney enthusiasts too and want to talk about their favorite things there, or ask for travel advice.

But more often than not, they’re just not theme park people, or they view going to somewhere like WDW as a kid’s thing, or as cheesy, hokey or even redneck. Some think my husband and I are strange for going to Disney World without kids, though they might not express it. To those, I say, “pish-posh.”

I read a great guest column in the AllEars.net newsletter a couple weeks ago that I truly identify with. It was written by another woman within a few years of my age.

After returning from a trip to Disney World, the author writes:

When I arrived to work, my boss bit my head off. Multiple times. Then I had to fight downtown traffic to retrieve a very heavy box, that I then had to haul back to my car, which was several blocks away. By the time I got back into my car, I was ready to cry. My re-entry into the world from the Most Magical Place on Earth had been very rough. Why, I wondered, couldn’t everyday life be more like Disney World?

The author goes on to lists all the magical things that happen at Disney World, such as At Disney, you get to wear pins on your shirt declaring a special moment: ‘Just engaged!’ ‘Anniversary!’ ‘First trip!’ and everyone congratulates you. (One of my favorites, too)

Then, she goes on to say:

As I was driving back to my office (and calming down), it occurred to me that perhaps I needed to look at things a different way. Maybe the kick-start everyone needed was for someone to be nice to them. Since then, I’ve been trying to incorporate that Disney feeling into my everyday happenings. While it is impractical to wear mouse ears to work, or to expect your house to be clean whenever you come home, I have found a few little things that make a big difference. … While I might not have a chance to have breakfast with Mickey and Pluto every morning, Real Life Land does come with some pretty good perks.

Disney World is an escape from reality, a place to get away from all your adult responsibilities and revert back to childhood.

And I, like the author, have started thinking of my life here as Real-Life Land. There’s no need for fun ONLY at Disney World — you can incorporate that into your daily life, too. So I’m trying.

I’m trying to release a lot of that worry that I have here in Real-Life Land, and to be nice, and positive, and optimistic, and take charge, and make plans — and prepare for Real-Life Land just as much as I plan our Disney World itineraries.

Some crappy things have happened lately — an emergency trip to the vet with our dog Mango (she’s OK, and more to come on that later); the loss of a child for one of my coworkers; and of course all the normal stress of everyday life. But if I can learn to make Real Life just as great as a trip to Disney World, then my life will be all the richer for it.