The year 2012 was going to be a record year for me as far as Disney vacations were concerned. As of a couple of months ago I was planning on spending several days in Walt Disney World by myself (see the June 20 post). My wife and I had tentatively planned on celebrating our 10th wedding anniversary with a Bahamian cruise aboard the Disney Dream in December.
Of course both of these vacations come with a significant price. Back in April I began saving for them. I put away a small amount each day and a larger amount each Friday. I was well on my way to my goal of having saved a little over $3000 by the time we would leave for our cruise.
But over the last couple of weeks it has become necessary to redirect my Disney fund toward other issues "closer to home". A couple of things have happened in our lives that have taken and will take financial priority over Disney vacations.
But what could possibly be more important than a Disney vacation? Well here's my answers: the next generation and new transportation.
A couple of weeks ago James and Brandi, my son and daughter in law, informed us of the most exciting thing to happen in our family since Michael and Heather adopted Bo, their cat. They told us that this coming April we will become grandparents.
Since the baby will be our first grandchild both Paula and I are excited and plan to help our grand baby have everything that he or she needs while growing up. This might mean just helping with furnish the nursery and supply diapers and formula at first. However we're really looking forward to the time when we can spoil our grand baby rotten.
For a year or so now Paula and I have been praying that her car, a 1997 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme, would last a few more years until we could save up enough money for a good down payment on a new one. Up until Friday September 9 it did. That's when, because of the cost of needed repair and maintenance we had to say "good bye" to the to the vehicle my wife has own for more than 10 years.
When we found her a new car, a 2011 Chevrolet Impala, it came with a monthly payment. So our budget had to be adjusted to allow for the inclusion of that payment for the next 5 years.
Now of all the things I value in my life: God, my wife, and my family are without a doubt the 3 most important. There are other things that come after them. In the interest of brevity I won't venture to name them or give them a specific order. For the purpose of this post only the place where my passion for Disney places is important. And that place is somewhere after the three I've already mentioned.
What does this mean? To paraphrase what Jesus said in 6th chapter of the book of Matthew. Where my heart is my "treasure" will be as well. That's why the funds I've saved and planned on saving for Disney trips will now and in the future be used to make sure my wife has a safe and reliable mode of transportation and to make our little "peanut" happy. (for an explanation of the use of the nickname "peanut" for our new grandchild see my "Found A Peanut" post on my RHFactors blog as listed above)
Unfortunately that means that all those 2012 plans for Disney are off the table. They won't be happening. I have cancelled the reservation of our stateroom for the December 2012 cruise on the Disney Dream. It looks like I will continue to experience Walt Disney World through the many media resources I (books, magazines, podcasts and the internet) I subscribe to while being "off world", for the foreseeable future.
I'm not saying that our Disney vacations have gone the way of Mickey's Toontown Fair. I fully intend to go back and visit "The World" again someday. Perhaps the next time I go it will be wilth my grandchild.
While Disney may be the best at giving the guests of their theme parks a special, fun-filled, memorable vacation there's something better. Serving God and taking care of the ones you love is the "true magic" of life. And when the opportunity comes along it is life's ultimate blessing.
So although I'm a bit disappointed that my 2012 Disney vacations are not going to happen and it took me a couple of days to really process the reality of that. I feel much better knowing that my wife has a reliable vehicle now. And I can't wait to be able to enjoy being a part of the life of my grandchild.
