It was an average Tuesday. The Sun was shining, and Caroline and I were not doing much of anything when the phone rang. On the other line was Pa Pa. (AKA my Dad). This was not unusual. To tell the truth, it’s odd for my Dad not to call a few times during the week to check in with, “The Princess and the Princesses’s mommy.” The basic conversation went like this: “So, what are you and the princess doing today? Well, Dad, not much of anything. Do you and the princess want to meet me at Disney World?” I had no idea my Dad was even in Florida, much less at Disney. Pa Pa was there doing something with automation of a new ride at Epcot; and, he had some extra time that day.

Caroline was ALMOST three years old. This is important because admission is free under the age of three. (Actually, if she could pass for it, she would still be under three) It is also important because this is the beginning of the age that little girls ALL want to be princesses. In fact, Caroline will still wake up in the morning and put on a princess dress and wear it until we have to leave the house. When we return, she’ll put it back on.

I packed up the princess, did not tell her where we were going or who would be there, and set out for the child abuse capital of the world… Disney. (If you take a family with little kids, make them travel together in the car, park 50 miles away from the entrance, then pay $75 a ticket, wait in a huge line just to take a ferry or monorail to even get into the park, and mix them all together, it’s a recipe for disaster.. or at least a few, “STOP CRYING! YOU ARE GOING TO HAVE FUN. NO! WE ARE GOING TO HAVE FUN!”)

We parked, got the stroller out, waited in line for the tram, took the tram to ticketing, waited in line for a ticket, and then waited in line for the ferry. This next part would make any price admission well-worth-while. You cannot see the castle until the ferry maneuvers around a small bend. Then, the castle appears in the distance. Literally, screaming with delight, Caroline, shouted, “SEE, MOMMY, SEE.. IT’S CINDEBRELLA’S CASTLE.” A few people looked and feigned smiles; but, as we drew closer, she would not stop yelling this. The feigned smiles turned into glares of, “control your child” Apparently, there is a socially acceptable amount of public joy actually allowed to be express; and, Caroline had surpassed it.

We arrived at the MAGIC KINGDOM. As one massive herd , we giddy-uped and mooooved off the ferry. So here we were. A mom and her almost three-year-old daughter, thousands of other people, and we were supposed to “meet-up” with Pa Pa. I had not really thought out the logic of this until we broke from the herd at the Kingdom entrance.

Here is where our story gains it’s point. Suddenly, Caroline began to yell more excitedly than when she first glimpsed “Cindebrella’s Castle”. Absolute delight was in her voice. She shouted, “Pa Pa” over and over while waiving her arms as if to fly over to him. (Again, at a socially unacceptable level) We quickly strolled over so she could embrace her Pa Pa. The rest of the day, truly, was magical. She still talks about the castle, Mickey Mouse, and ice cream; but, the most magical part of the trip was who we were with, not where we were.

I have noticed that this stage in her little life has her heart very happy and feeling blessed by the PEOPLE God has provided. She never wakes up and says, “Mom, can we go to Disney today?” She does, however, wake up and ask if we can see Kaci, or if Gi Gi or Pa Pa or a barrage of other family and friends. I challenge you to find a more magical, wonderous place to take a small child than Disney World, and yet, all of that was overshadowed by a special person in her life. In the simplest terms, she is the most delighting by what most of us take for granted…. Each other.