After church Sunday, we drove down to Orlando for a little getaway vacation. We've been planning this for a few months now, and were really looking forward to the time away just to rest. And thanks to some great friends, we saved a ton of money on a Disney resort and got a free pass to a theme park of our choice!
We woke up bright and early this morning and headed to Disney's Animal Kingdom. We decided on this park for two reasons - 1) Micah absolutely LOVES animals and 2) There is lots to do for small children and pregnant women. Magic Kingdom is great and we look forward to taking Micah there one day - but honestly, at this age he knows more about animals than Mickey Mouse! We will come back one day when he's older and can remember it (and bring his little sister too!)
It was such a fun day! The Festival of the Lion King show was probably my favorite! I just enjoyed watching Micah captivated by all the singers and dancers. He enjoyed it so much, he fell asleep! Haha! That's when you know it's good - he almost always falls asleep to good music. ;)
Vacations are different as a parent. Especially going to theme parks. There are naps that need to be taken, another mouth to feed, rides that need to be avoided, not to mention a bulky stroller to push around. The list goes on. And you would think that the extra responsibility or hindrance, in some cases, would be a cause of discontentment. But in fact, it's the opposite - I couldn't be more excited about having our little boy with us!
There is just something about seeing the magic through a child's eyes. I think Josh and I stared at Micah more than we did anything else! The exciting thing is that he is still young and it will only get better as he gets older and understands more of what is going on around him. Every day is like a new adventure waiting to be explored.
When I think about it, I have a lot to learn from him.
I have life experiences, expectations and stereotypes in front of me every day. My discontentment a lot of times is relative to one of these three things. Either it was better in the past, I expected it to be more or it's known to be bad anyway.
But Micah has none of that. He just sees. He takes every moment in and enjoys what is in front of him.
How different would my life be if I lived this way? And more importantly, if I loved people this way?
I want to be more like my son, Micah. One of the cutest things he does right now is wave at anyone who comes within five feet of him. And I mean, anyone. Sometimes they don't see his little hand sticking out and don't wave back. But he's not phased. He goes right on looking for someone else to wave to! I'll be sad to see the day he first experiences rejection. I wish he never would.
Going to Disney today with my child for the first time, was probably one of the most content days I've spent at a theme park ever. Why? Because he was content. And living vicariously through him meant we had no other choice but to be content too.
This post is part of a series I’m writing for the month of October entitled “31 Days of Being Content.” See all other posts in this series by clicking here. Or enter your email address in the sidebar on the right to subscribe to this blog and receive posts straight to your inbox!
