|
It was 103 degrees without
figuring in the heat index. The lines for water, or to get into air
conditioned shops were 20-25 minutes at the very least, and the
attraction line waits were over an hour. But none the less, I was
smiling ear-to-ear. My husband was not. If anything he was getting
even more frustrated by my grin. How is it that his wife, who was
also sweating like she just ran a marathon in the Sahara desert,
could be joyful? Sheer bliss coming from the same woman who had
turned down concert tickets, in far more pleasant weather, because
she didn't care for crowds! What gives?
To understand we have to go back to the reason why we were at
Universal Orlando, "The Wizarding World of Harry Potter"
in the first place. While yes, my daughters and I are big fans of
the books/movies it was not the original goal of the trip. (I would
like to think if it were, we would have planned for a January
journey as to find it less crowded and MUCH cooler.) No, the main
reason we were in Florida was to check out my dad's new place.
As I've written before, my sister (by some amazing luck) found this
place, and from what I had heard it was ideal. Still, I needed to
see it to feel certain. Turns out it was more than ideal, it was
perfect. The night before we went on our "Harry Potter 'Muggle'"
adventure we were on the pier at my Dad's house with a couple of his
nice new neighbors watching the gorgeous vibrant orange and red
sunset in the west. To the east we could see giant storm clouds in
the distance bouncing flickers of light between them. It was as
though that was our horrible experience going through mom's death
and now she was on the other side helping us to find this bit of
heaven.
So why was I delighted, to be herded around with strangers feeling
all clammy, normally something I would dread? Because we made it,
tired and sticky, but ready to take on what lies ahead. Does this
mean I have reached the last time I will look back with sadness at
the loss of my mom? Impossible, but as I look ahead there will
always be a sense that she is with me in spirit. Not to mention she
really didn't like crowds and muggy places so I had to smile knowing
the only way I ever would have gotten her through that long
oppressive day at the amusement park was "in spirit." |
