Remember that Disney commercial? When there’s a Disney vacation on the horizon? Where the kids are in bed and a parent pops a head in and says something about “why are you still awake?” and the answer, a little boy in a PeeWee Herman voice says “I’m too excited to sleep”?
That’s me. Right now.
Because I got a call from the Disneyland Resort tonight, about 7:30, confirming (for the second time), the Magical Moments we’re getting on Friday.
Every year we go up to Disneyland on my birthday. For the past eleven years, we’ve met friends up there. We wore pinwheel headbands on our first trip and every trip since. It’s become a tradition. I make us matching shirts. With big silly pinwheels on the front. We have fun.
Like the time we got front row seats at Billy Hill and the Hillbillies. And when Billy turned his head away from the crowd to put in his hillbilly teeth, all of us pinwheel people were ready. Every one of us put in our hillbilly teeth. And when he turned around and smiled at the crowd, we all smiled right back. It was great.
Things like that. Over the years we’ve made a name for ourselves. We’re the “Pinwheel People”. And I was told tonight that we’re world famous. You get that? “World famous”. How cool is that? Yeah, probably at other Disney parks, but that’s okay, we’re still “world famous”.
I was told to check in to City Hall that morning and we’ll get special buttons. And other stuff. I don’t know what. It’s a surprise. It’s Magical. And I’m sure it will be a Moment to remember. We meet up with our guide at noon. In front of “It’s a Small World”. The same lovely woman who made last year so special, just because.
I took a CostCo sleep aid pill a little bit ago. You know why?
Because I was laying in bed, grinning from ear to ear.
Because I’m “too excited to sleep”.