THE SONIC BOOMER
I experienced an entire summer in just one week and, I have to tell you, it was great.
My daughtevvvr Jennifer invited Mark and I to accompany them on the family vacation to Disney World. Disneyholic that I am, I naturally jumped at the chance. I even offered to watch the kids for a long weekend so Jen and her hubby could celebrate their 10th anniversary — which isn’t until next month, but close enough.
I had a blast.
The first order of business was Tess’s appointment to meet Cinderella. Tess had a Cinderella-themed birthday party last year and has carried a torch for the princess ever since. Upon first setting eyes upon her, Tess pointed, gasped, covered her mouth with both hands and stared at her in awe. She then shyly sang her a five-word song she’d written, “Cinderella, Cinderella. You’re my favorite!” In response, Cinderella gave her a heartfelt hug, which sent Tessie promptly over the moon.
The pool at the resort was the big attraction for four-year-old Skippy. He bobbled, he swam, he bounced, he splashed and he hung with the older boys who taught him how to do a cannonball. The next day, he did it again… and again. The multi-billion-dollar Disney entertainment complex just down the road was a mere interruption of his pool time.
Back at home, we tried to keep the magic going with an inflatable pool, a hose and a hefty supply of water balloons. You’d think the kids would’ve turned up their noses at this meager attempt, but water is water. We couldn’t get them out of the pool, the hose was running constantly, and Mark had to change clothes several times due to unexpected water balloon attacks — accompanied by diabolical laughter any super-villain would have envied.
Speaking of super-villains, we watched movies, ate popcorn and went to McDonald’s. Did you know that the “M” handles of a Happy Meal box make excellent glasses when the box is worn upside-down on one’s head? It’s true!
We took the kids to a park, too. There, the sandbox was the big attraction. People kindly drop off their kids’ old sand toys, so there is an ever-changing selection of pails, shovels, dump trucks and front-end loaders. Because shovels seem to be the toy that is always at a premium, I brought two vintage metal shovels with us, the kind that dig so well but are also so easily repurposed as weaponry. Don’t blame me. These are the toys we had back in the day. My childhood doubled as “Survival of the Fittest.”
By the time we returned the kids to their parents, chock full of watermelon and barbecue, Mark and I felt we’d done it all. We were exhausted, beat and broke. We dragged our weary bodies back to the car as the children waved merrily from their front porch. Then they turned to their parents and energetically chirped, “Let’s do something!”
