If there’s one thing my childhood didn’t always have it was consistency. I have stories for ages about how crazy of a child life I lived that make people wonder how I ended up as “regular” as I am (if that’s a good word for it). So, to keep myself sane and focused I used to always find things to look forward to. Whether it was getting to go to a movie with my brother, or playing Dungeons and Dragons hopped up on Jolt Cola, those were some of the things that reminded me that my childhood really was OK.
One of the biggest consistencies in my childhood life was a yearly trip to Disneyland. It’s not like they were even planned, they just happened. Either from a trip through the local rec center or a field trip through school I was always there at least once a year, sometimes 2 or 3 times. Thank goodness for all those lawns I mowed and kids I babysat to pay for it all 🙂
Parades at Disneyland are part of the park experience, it wouldn’t be Disneyland without one. So growing up, the “Energizer” (Yes, that’s how old I am for those that remember), then “GE” Main Street Electrical Parade was always a part of the day. You knew it was there, and it was just a given. I would always make sure to check it out because it had Elliot from Pete’s Dragon (which is my favorite classic Disney live action movie).
Most of the other kids I’d be at the park with would run off to ride something while the crowd was watching the parade, but I couldn’t miss it. It was always worth it. When I turned 18 I moved away and became a bit of a world traveler, so it was a long time before I made it back to Disneyland again. Sadly, the next time I made it back to the park was in 1997, the year after the parade ended in the California park. Insert serious sad face here 🙁
Things change and evolve, and I am one that will be sad for things that change, but with change comes new things to focus on. This one never really got replaced for me though. It really was that one big thing that would always be missing from my visits to the park as the years went on.
Enter Amanda: A amazing wife who I discovered had one big thing in common with me when we first got together, her love of Disneyland. So much so that I made sure we both had annual passes the first year we were a couple. Turns out, this parade was a big part of her childhood too. She would take many trips there through her childhood and she loved this parade just as much as I did. For all I know, we may have been there on the same day watching the same parade. Stranger things have happened…..
So, long story short, Disney decides that the parade has run its life course, parts are broken and gone for good (Goodbye Blue Fairy), so they wanted to bring it back to California from Florida and give it one last good run before it goes away forever. Of COURSE this becomes a main topic of conversation. We needed to go, we needed to see it again, it’s just a matter of getting real life out of the way and make it happen! And being us, we always find a way…..and oh yes we did!
OK, parade time. Front row viewing right where the parade starts thanks to being in the right place at the right time. It didn’t really become real to me until I saw the first float. Then, I felt this connection to my love for Disneyland with Amanda like I never have before. I was getting to relive a piece of my childhood that I loved but carried to myself with someone that had the same childhood excitement I did.
It seems like a small thing, but look at it like this. Think of something you loved as a kid, just you. It could be a T.V. show, a board game, anything you want it to be, but YOU loved it. Maybe other people didn’t share that same love that you did, maybe other people didn’t care. It was yours, and you were OK with that. Years and years later you get to revisit it with the person you love now and also find out they have the same amount of love for it that you do. It makes the fact that you were alone in how you felt as a kid not feel so alone anymore. I truly feel like it brought our childhoods together on some level, and now every time I remember watching the parade as a kid I don’t feel like I was watching it alone anymore. It may have been at different times in life, but Amanda and I were the same kids watching the same parade with the same enthusiasm.
Our childhoods don’t always define who we are as adults, but if you remember the good times about them it can bring a smile to those days when ‘Adulting’ wants to crush your soul. I had a good memory that I’ve always carried with me, and now that memory has been made so much better.
Life is good, and things like this remind me why life should be good. Look back on the memories you carry with you, and hopefully you’ll find a reason that a good memory can turn into something great. Amanda, I truly thank you for doing this for me and inspiring this blog.
My friends, thank you for being here. Until next time 🙂