Planning a Trip to Disney

In the mind of a child an anticipated day of fun comes almost unexpectedly, when they wake up and realize “Today is the day!”  As the day unfolds it seems to last an eternity with dopamine flowing freely and deep grooves of memory being cut with the sharp sounds of laughter.  They inhabit this moment of music as harmonic lines shared with friends as parts of a song.

But as adults we see the event coming.  We have mapped out the route and made the necessary preparations to make it possible.  We know how it will unfold to a great degree and know that the day will be over in the blink of an eye.  So much awareness of how time works, of the interval needs for food and water, of how to keep our children safe from danger.

This kind of an omniscient awareness that carries us through the day is necessary but also a melancholy burden that brings back memories of when we had “that day” ourselves and ran to and fro in a naive blissfulness with our parents providing the needed guardrails.  And in so remembering the blink of an eye forces a tear out over the lid of our windows of perception.

***