WELCOME TO 2017! YOUR MAGICAL MEMORIES AWAIT!

By Shannon Stuemke

Happy New Year! I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season and this year brings you everything you have been hoping for! I know this is the time of year for setting goals and making promises. I have made a few for myself this year both in my personal life and for my business. For me, 2017 is going to bring a lot of changes. The biggest one being that my 5-year-old twin girls will be heading off to Kindergarten in the Fall. The time went so slow and so fast at the same time! I'm sure many parents can relate to that statement.
 
Besides my travel planning business for all Disney Destinations, I work outside my home two days a week and, I am home with my girls on the other days. Today was one of those "at home with the girls" days. As I sat and watched them play (or fight) with one another, I kept thinking that these next eight months before Kindergarten starts, are going to go so quickly. I wonder if I have spent enough time with them and if we did enough fun stuff together over the past five years. Did I let them get messy enough? Did I teach them enough to start managing some of the cruelties of the world? Did I make enough memories with them? I really hope so because, I know that life is already busy. It is likely to get even busier as they get involved in more and more activities. So, one of my goals for this time we have left before August, is to make more memories together. I want to be more present with my girls and enjoy this time before the life becomes about homework, friends, sports, and all those other fun things that come along with growing up.
Of course, a trip to Walt Disney World is in store for us shortly after the girls are done with preschool in May. Although, I know we will embark on more Disney adventures throughout the years with them, I feel like this our last moment to really catch them with true magic and wonder in their eyes. Let's face it... once kids get into school, they start learning a lot about the world from other kids. They lose some of that innocence and imagination that they had during the preschool years. They will start to hear that Santa, the Tooth Fairy, and Mickey Mouse are not real. The magic and wonder in their eyes will sadly be replaced with doubt. This is all normal of course and just a part of growing up. I want to see it one last time before that doubt starts to appear. I want to make memories! They may or may not remember the time spent at Walt Disney World the summer before Kindergarten but, I will! When they come to me as teenagers and tell me they rather stay home this summer and hang out with their friends, I can think back to the summer of 2017 and the memories we made.
In this time of making resolutions, goals, and promises, make sure to include making memories with your family as one of these. it doesn't have to be a trip to Walt Disney World. Find something that you and your family would really enjoy and just be together. The time really does go so quickly! From sitting in a rocking chair with my two babies five years ago, to watching them get ready to head off to Kindergarten...in a blink of an eye! Make some magical memories this year!


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