How to “chill the f*&^ out”, Disney-style

As she stated in her comments on Thursday, April 10th, Jen’s advice to me on how to deal with everything that currently is my life was, essentially, “chill the f*&^ out” … but in nicer words. (Oh, and on an unrelated note, the photos on her website? Yowza!! I know about 47 guys – and a few women - that would wanna try a “Slinky Raspberry” after seeing THAT shot … but I digress.) Anyway, I pondered the advice my friend had lightly tossed my way and decided that it might be interesting and refreshing to heed it, if only for a few days.

It was a decision made less than 24 hours earlier, as my Aunt was being transferred to an on-campus recovery facility. The staff plays a version of “Truth or Dare” with those of us who spend our nights with our recovering family members. Questions are posed to those who want to be included with no real consequences and no wrong answers towards the simple goal of getting to know one another better outside of the REAL reason we’re there (be it for family or for employment). The question posed was “where was the last physical place (with NO influence on who you were with) where you really let loose? Where you didn’t worry about perceptions or judgments – and laughed for the simple reason of overwhelming joy and happiness?” The locations were varied, but it was surprising how many of the places named were carnivals, parades or fairs. When five of the staff realized they were approaching a 36-hour period of downtime sans pagers, the immediate reaction was a clear and resounding “we’re going to Anaheim tomorrow – who’s in?”

And so I found myself at “The Happiest Place On Earth” on Sunday, laughing until my sides ached, smiling so much my face hurt, having an incredible day with terrific folks and just blowing off steam. The whole group of us Teacupped, Mr Toaded and Haunted Mansioned our way from one end of the park to the other. We ate the WORST possible junk food (I figured that if doctors have cotton candy and chocolate malts for lunch, it can’t be *that* bad, right?) and found our favorite characters for photo opportunities. We finished our day of escape with a GREAT dinner at Napa Rose (where, it turns out an event planner I worked with in 2003 still works *and* fondly remembered me) before flying back home. We had managed to have a whole day where we basically behaved as though none of us had a single care in the world.

And, at least yesterday, none of us did.

Do I owe Jen a “thank you” for posting a slogan that gave me the opportunity to experience such a care-free day? Possibly. But it’s also possible that “chill the f*&^ out” is the same as saying “Hukuna Matata” and, as I was reminded yesterday, that means “no worries for the rest of your days”.

But I’m not greedy … I’ll happily accept “no worries for 24 hours”.