Disneyland Paris doesn't make many bucket lists but it did mine. It almost didn't happen though.
Disneyland Paris doesn't make many bucket lists but it did mine. It almost didn't happen though.
It's somewhere I went to as a kid with my mum and I took Abbie in 2021. So how was it still unticked on the bucket list?
I grew up on a council estate with my mum sometimes working multiple jobs. Money could be tight, but she always saved for a good holiday.
As I got older and had my own kid, I kept thinking, I'd love to take my mum back to Disney to experience it with her grandkids.
But I made excuses...
We're moving house this year.
I need a new car.
We've got a different holiday booked.
Then February 2025 came. My mum was taken into hospital in severe pain. She required an emergency operation which was extremely risky. I think she was given a 10% chance.
The other option, the 90%, meant she wouldn't make the week - so it was a no brainer.
The operation went well, but the recovery didn't. She wasn't expected to pull through. We were called in and given the bad news. We sat at her bedside waiting for what felt like the inevitable.
When you're in that moment, regrets start to enter your head. I wish I'd said this. I wish I'd done that. As ridiculous as it sounds Disney was one of them.
In that moment I promised my unconscious mum that if she pulled through, me and my brother would take her. I didn't think it'd happen, but I hoped.
Almost like a fairy tale, hours later, her body started to respond.
Months passed before she left hospital, but it didn't matter. She was out.
We booked - we went - we enjoyed. I'll never forget it and neither will she.
This year taught me a lesson to never wait. Never leave things to later. They could become regrets.
If you want to go on a trip of a lifetime, get it booked.
If you want to change your lifestyle or get a new job now is the time.
There will never be a perfect time...
It's been an odd week, a reminder that life can be short so make the most of it.
It's been an odd week, a reminder that life can be short so make the most of it.
I just got back from this place with the family.
I ate far too many Mickey doughnuts and wore out my trainers, but created memories I'll never forget.
This almost didn't happen, but more on that tomorrow.