Sophias wish: The send off party
So I have put off writing about sophia's wish trip because that meant it was really over. I know so silly. But we had like a post disney hang over for a few days. I am sure anyone who has ever done a week in disney can attest to that feeling.Now I'm recharged and ready to go!
I need to start off by saying Make -A -Wish, Give Kids the World and the people at TGIFridays did an absolutely incredible and inspiring job. Incase that gets lost somehow let me say that again. These people are incredible.
Our Make a Wish celebrations kicked off with a small dinner party. It was sponsored by any resturaunt of our choosing The only rule was it had to be someplace sophia likes or frequents. that narrowed it down considerably. However TGIFridays has been a favorite of our families ever since I was pregnant with her. So it seemed like the most natural choice. I knew the food would be good but I didn't expect their hearts would be so big.
Our Make-a-Wish volunteer team did a great job decorating the section of the ding room they sectioned off for us. All Mickey everywhere. They missed no detail right down to the 4 foot tall Mickey ballon. They even got snow white to come and greet all the kids, Take pictures and sing a song to sophia. I invited the people who where closest to us and the people who are really my go hard Day one, A one's of Team Sophia. I wish i could have invited everybody. But we were so fortunate to receive so much already, i didn't dare push my luck.
We got a TON of food. Basically everything on their Appetizer menu on huge platters . It was absolutely delicious and we shared a meal and some good laughs with the people who saw us through the hardest of our times. It was such a great opportunity. Life gets so busy and its not often that you get the chance to just sit down and appreciate people who have helped you. I also think the value of sharing a meal and having time to connect face to face with people you care about is so important in this age of technological over acheivment.
As if that wasn't enough the people the work at that particular restaurant went above and beyond. They presented sophia with an enormous beach tote full of TGIFridays gear along with a princess backpack that was stuffed to the gills with princess gear , books, sticks, a snow white dress up set with tiara, dolls just anything a little princess could want. They even signed a card and everyone wrote something kind on it. Every employee it seemed found their way over to say hello to sophia and talk to us a bit about her trip. when i took sophia to the ladies room every customer smiled or waved at her. It wasn't forced either. You could see it in their faces they were all very happy to be a part of making sophia's party great for her. They were all patient and understanding of her lack of attentiveness and didn't let it slow them down or throw them off. It was just so surprising. I didn't expect anything except food from them. The level of generosity that we encountered... was absolutely incredible.
At that party we were presented with out official trip itinerary , our flight information and our debit card stocked with spending money for the week. I couldn't have asked for a better evening.
After that we only had two days to wait to embark on our very first family vacation! We went home giddy like a bunch of five year olds. That night made it real. This was REALLY happening .
