A Few Things…
If you can dream it, you can do it. ~Walt Disney
First of all, I’d like to thank everyone who commented yesterday. Reading all of your comments left me so emotional that I couldn’t respond. I was really touched by what each and every one of you had to say.
Thank you for sharing lessons and ideas. I think one of the things I’m going to do is take a lot of the lessons and make a scrap book with them. I’m not terribly crafty however I know I can come up with something wonderful.
When the time is right I will make some videos for the girls however in the meantime it’s time to use the video camera I purchased a few years ago. It’s hardly ever been used. I want them to have as many memories on video as possible. Of course you realize this may subject you to some more videos much like Look Ma, I Got A Tiara but in much better quality.
Now I must clear up any confusion there might have been over an off-handed comment I made on Sunday in my Disney Update post. At the end of the post I made mention about doing my taxes and the hope that I wouldn’t have to use your donation money to pay for anything.
Please let me clarify…I procrastinated in preparing my federal taxes this year and every year I’m always afraid I’ll owe money. Every year I go through this and every year we get a refund no matter how small it may be. Every year the refund is just enough to cover our real estate tax bill and we get it just in time to pay that bill. So, while other people are able to use that money for other things, my husband and I use our federal tax refund to pay our real estate taxes. We have done this every year for the past 11 years.
In fact the Economic Stimulus check we will receive along with lots of other Americans will go towards the first real estate tax bill we received last month. We will pay the late penalty and then pay the tax. I wonder how many other people will use that check for bills as well.
The last thing I want to talk about was my doctor’s appointment with the medical oncologist yesterday. Actually, I’ll save that for tomorrow’s post because that will take a post in itself to explain the details. Plus, I haven’t fully wrapped my mind around it…it’s that mind blowing.
Basically, I need to get my ass in gear and start treatment as soon as possible which means my family has to go to Disney yesterday. My husband and I are extremely grateful for all you have done to make it possible for us to take our daughters on that trip, a trip we’ve been dreaming for over three years.
We understand that some people were getting together to donate flyer miles and other things but I have an aggressive cancer that needs treatment as soon as possible.
At risk of making some people angry my husband and I decided to do what’s best for our family, our daughters and for my health and we had to plan our trip to Disney accordingly. We were able to plan the trip exactly how we envisioned it at a very reasonable price.
See, we wanted to give our two daughters the entire Disney experience where they could stay at a Disney resort, you know where everything is Disney. That’s part of the magic. We wanted to give them a week away from the harsh reality of what they’ve been through for the past four years, after all they are ages eight and 11.
So, I hope that people will understand the decision that Dude and I had to make. I also hope they will understand what we wanted our daughters to have in taking them to Disney.
If, God forbid, this is the last vacation our family gets to take together then I want it to be the most memorable vacation ever…
Filed under Cancer Sucks |35 Responses to “A Few Things…”
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7:37 am on April 16th, 2008
I think making videos is a wonderful idea.
I wish you didn’t HAVE to plan your trip to Disney so quickly, but I know that you will have a wonderful vacation with your family, filling all of you with wonderful memories to last a lifetime. *hugs*
Sodapop’s last blog post..Thinking out loud again
7:40 am on April 16th, 2008
Lisa, you do what YOU need to do - screw it if people don’t get it. PLEASE get on your vaca asap! Get that damned treatment started. We need you!
Dawn @ Coming to a Nursery Near You’s last blog post..Wordless Wednesday
7:46 am on April 16th, 2008
Stop worrying about us. Do what you have to do. And yes, we expect tonnes and tonnes of photos and videos.
7:51 am on April 16th, 2008
Lisa, Take those girls and have a fantasy filled week. The world will understand what you’re doing. All that is important is having this time with your girls. This will be a great place to start those scrapbooks. Be blessed and have a wonderful time.
7:55 am on April 16th, 2008
Just like everyone is saying, do what you need to do. I don’t think you need our approval to do what needs to be done. Just go out, have fun, make some unforgettable memories, and just live. That’s all we all need to do. Just live and enjoy life.
yoshi’s last blog post..Memories of New Jersey
8:27 am on April 16th, 2008
I’m so glad that the trip is planned and y’all are ready to go.
I’m so sad that you had plan it like yesterday because of the beast inside of you.
And I agree with Nat above - stop worrying about us!
Lucy’s last blog post..Protected: HAET!
8:30 am on April 16th, 2008
You don’t owe anyone an explanation for anything! If it’s time to get packed up and leave for Disney tomorrow, then pack up and go. And have a great time! All those folks who wanted to give you frequent flyer miles can still give them for your next vacation. Have a great time and then come back ready to kick some cancer-ass.
Nina’s last blog post..Mean girls
8:46 am on April 16th, 2008
Lisa, you absolutely need to do what is right for you, the girls, your husband and your health.
Have a great time and enjoy the parks!
Julie’s last blog post..Vacation
8:47 am on April 16th, 2008
That is wonderful that the trip is planned, and the last thing you should be worried about are people wondering how you are going to use that money. Regardless of what you use it for, or when you use it… they raised it for YOU, for YOU to do what needed to be done. Either way, the money is helping your family, and that my dear, is all that matters.
That Economic Stimulus check… you got it. Bills Bills and more Bills. Story of our lives, huh?!
I’m very excited for your vacation you have planned, a time you will never ever forget. Ever.
To all that come to this happy place: welcome. Disneyland is your land. —Walt Disney
Krystle’s last blog post..The Happenings
9:29 am on April 16th, 2008
Yeah. I agree with what they all said x 100!
9:56 am on April 16th, 2008
Have a wonderful time! I hope that you and your family will be able to reminisce about a fantastic vacation for years to come. (…and blow Mickey a kiss for me!)
9:57 am on April 16th, 2008
You should use that money for whatever you need. I think that making it all about Disney might have been a poor move because it makes you feel bad if you have to use it for something else.
What’s the way that you’re planning it that you’re afraid would make some people angry? I missed that in the post if you said it.
Avitable’s last blog post..Comfort food is . . .
10:05 am on April 16th, 2008
How the fuck could anyone be ANGRY at you about what YOU choose to do with YOUR family?
Sheesh. (And my advice via email was meant more to ease your mind, stress, etc. than anything else - just FYI.)
I’m glad you’re getting this chance. And like I said, if you need anything while you’re here - let me know. Promise?
Miss Britt’s last blog post..Everything I needed to know about sex I learned at the bowling alley.
11:24 am on April 16th, 2008
I hope you guys have a wonderful time & take lots of video and pics! xoxoxo
Karen Sugarpants’s last blog post..Mixed Feelings
11:51 am on April 16th, 2008
Lisa…you and your family go have a wonderful time at Disney. You and your girls will all get to be Princesses while you’re there and that’s exactly what you deserve.
Bring on the tiaras girl!
12:02 pm on April 16th, 2008
Screw people. The only thing I’m demanding is some pictures. LOL!
Love ya babe … have fun, okay?
J.’s last blog post..Monday Stuff
12:41 pm on April 16th, 2008
Never a need to apologize, Lisa. As everyone else has said thus far, you do whatever you need to do for you and your family. Period. Enjoy Disney, spend the money however you like. That’s what it’s all about.
Or wait, was that the Hokey Pokey? I can’t remember.
Karl’s last blog post..100 Things About Karl, Part Four
1:15 pm on April 16th, 2008
You’re all in my prayers, Lisa! I’m not understanding what could possibly have anyone upset or angry in your decisions regarding your trip. The trip is for you and your family, so the planning must be for you and your family. What’s best for all of your family.
You remain in our (my family’s) prayers.
Love,
3T
1:47 pm on April 16th, 2008
I hope that your trip is wonderful! We stayed at Animal Kingdom Lodge, 3 years ago, and the girls got to sleep in bunk beds, and we woke up to the Savannah View…it was truly magical! We also did the dining plan, and it really saved us lots of money! I hope you are doing that dining plan!!! Where are you staying? We have been to Disney often, but, only stayed in the resort once…Can’t wait to hear all about it!
1:53 pm on April 16th, 2008
I always take any tax refund and put it to my Property taxes, too!
Whatever you do with that money, it’s YOURS.
When a person truly “gives” something, that means IT DOESN’T BELONG TO THEM ANYMORE!
I’d be thrilled if you bought purses with it. Whatever. It doesn’t matter! We love you.
annie’s last blog post..F-F-Friday
2:29 pm on April 16th, 2008
I really hope this holiday goes incredibly well. It should be amazing and magical. I just want to see 1 photo of you in front of the Cinderella Castle. I think we all do!
Colin Brooks’s last blog post..mondayz tunez #21 :: oh, my body, oh so tired
5:19 pm on April 16th, 2008
I hope you, dude and your daughters have the vacation of your dreams!
I don’t think anyone would donate (me included) and then be pissed because it went for something more pressing or whatever. You do what you have to do, after all it is your money.
themuttprincess’s last blog post..HAPPY Hump Day
5:40 pm on April 16th, 2008
Lisa: Care to share with us what hotel you’ve chosen yet? I’m so excited for your family. With choosing to stay at one of the Disney hotels, you’ll never be sorry. Having stayed on-site and off-site, I can tell you they are entirely different vacations, with the on-site being much more magical.
5:52 pm on April 16th, 2008
Please tell me nobody gave you shit for how/when you will spend the money?? I hate when people put stipulations on things. Either do something out of the goodness of one’s heart or shut the fuck up. Yeah, a little PMS. So are we both doing a Florida countdown together? You guys are going to have a blast!
7:43 pm on April 16th, 2008
Chatty - being one person who commented about the Disney vs. taxes post - let me explain myself. Having lived through exactly what Lisa is experiencing now - as the spouse of a cancer patient - I wanted to express the urgency to get on that vacation as soon as possible. I know how quickly Cancer attacks, and I suggested that the trip was more important than paying taxes. I don’t typically use fowl language .. but to put it in terms you might understand … I was basically advising Lisa to f*ck Uncle Sam and have some fun. I don’t consider that “giving her sh*t”
7:44 pm on April 16th, 2008
Lisa, anyone who matters is going to back you 100%. The rest can suck it. I’m so glad you’re getting to live out this dream with your husband and your girls. I can’t wait to hear all about how it went!
BlondeBlogger’s last blog post..Goodies
7:54 pm on April 16th, 2008
yea like burger king says “have it your way”.
geek’s last blog post..For those keeping up
9:14 pm on April 16th, 2008
Lisa, I have only three words.
GO. HAVE. FUN.
11:03 pm on April 16th, 2008
I hope this vacation meets all your expectations. I wish my donation could’ve been $10,000 instead of the paltry amount I could afford so that you could’ve gone twice: now and after your treatment is done, but there it is. If good wishes count for anything, you’ll have many more Disney vacations to look forward to. I pray to God that you do.
Creating memories is something we, as parents, can do. Your daughters will remember this vacation forever. I completely agree with the fact that you’re trying to balance the bad with the good. My kids (30 and 28) still remember the horrible (in my mind) vacation we took when we rented a vacation cabin (shack) in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan where there were NO other kids around. And yet, they remember it as fun. I say this because you won’t have to try hard at Disney. Suspend time and enjoy all the little moments.
11:43 pm on April 16th, 2008
I hope that your trip is just as carefree and fun as possible, and that for a while you can worry about nothing bigger than catching that next monorail to the Magic Kingdom (or whichever park you like best). God bless all of you.
6:16 am on April 17th, 2008
Dawn, Thank you so much for your encouragement. Getting treatment ASAP is extremely important.
Nat, Dude and I agonized over making the plans we needed and wanted to make but we put my health and our daughters first.
diva65, Thank you…I’m going to start making a scrapbook this weekend. I’m going to Michael’s Craft Store to start.
yoshi, Thank you. I was worried because I didn’t know what kind of plans were going on but Dude and I knew what my doctors said and based our plans accordingly. Plus we needed to get approval from the girl’s school which is a two week process.
Lucy, It is a huge relief that the trip is planned because it was stressing me out. And like I said, my husband and I agonized over the way we wanted to do the trip. Being within a Disney resort is so much easier for us.
Nina, Thanks Nina. Believe it or not I started getting some of my clothes together last night and I’m pulling out suitcases tonight.
Julie, Thanks Julie. I hope we have a fantastic time and that my health is still pretty fair.
Krystle, That’s the rationale I used. The money raised was for us to go to Disney and that’s what we wanted to use it for even though there will be bills ahead. It is very important for us to have this time together. The bills will have to wait.
Great quote
Mattie, Right on!
Rona, I hope that we can laugh and giggle about it for years to come too. I hope it’s the most memorable vacation for us ever.
I’ll tell Mickey hello and blow him a kiss for you.
Avitable, I really want to take my children to Disney World. They need a break, even though it is temporary, from the hard reality that they have dealt with for the past four years. Last summer they spent their vacation visiting me in a hospital ever day and when I came home they saw me laying either in bed or on the couch.
That’s no way to spend a childhood.
As parents, we can’t always give them much and they don’t ask for much. To give them a dream vacation to Disney…well, that’s something my husband and I have always dreamed of doing.
Knowing how sick I am and not knowing what my outcome will be makes it urgent for me to do this now…like yesterday.
I’m not sure what other plans were being made or who /what was involved but we made our own plans because it’s what we needed and wanted to do at the risk that the people making and contributing might get upset.
Unfortunately cancer doesn’t wait for anyone and the doctor treating me won’t treat me if I wait too long. That made it a no brainer to make the plans as quickly as we could.
Miss Britt, I took your e-mail into heavy consideration. See the answer above
Karen, There will a fuckton of video and pictures.
Rachel, Unfortunately the girls want nothing to do with being princesses. I’ll be taking on that role.
J., You got the pictures!
Karl, I guess I’m very accommodating sometimes or perhaps I still have some co-dependent issues lingering. If you insist we do the Hokey Pokey we will consider it. Is there any particular park that’s better than another for the HP?
3T, Thank you for keeping us in your prayers.
We just didn’t want to step on anyone’s toes who may have been trying to help us get there by donating something other than money. I don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings because everyone has been so kind.
It’s been completely stressing me out.
Christine, Our total dream would have been what you described but what we chose is just as good.
I’m going to keep where we are staying private until after our trip, only because of the kids. Then I’ll tell everyone about it when we get back.
annie, I feel bad that you have to do to do the same thing but I feel better that I’m not alone. I mean WTF??? Thank you for understanding that we are using the money for exactly what it was intended for…to go to Disney World.
Although I’d love to have a new Coach bag. Oh wait, I still have gift certificate from Christmas. I need to get to the outlet.
Colin, Should I wear my tiara in front of the castle?
themuttprincess, Believe me, we agonized over what to do, how to do it and then said, “FUCK IT”. We need to do this. And I can’t wait.
Pam, I hope no one minds but I’m going to keep the hotel private until after the vacation so the entire internet doesn’t know where and when my family will be…only because my kids are involved…I’ll tell everyone about it afterwards.
Chatty, You will be in Florida the week before us. I’m going to put a countdown up though. I started packing already but I’ve got four people to pack for…
Willo, There is no reason for you to explain yourself here. You can also use fowl language here as often as you fucking wish.
There is no censorship here unless you are a spammer.
Please, don’t feel that you have to apologize.
BlondeBlogger, I don’t know for sure that people are upset I just wanted to say that if anyone gets upset I was explaining that we did what we needed and wanted to do.
geek, I feel like I’m now going to Burger King
Mary, I. PLAN. ON. IT.
Mrs RW, I truly appreciate that you made any donation at all.
I’m looking forward to a vacation with no Nintendo DS, no Wii, no computers…just US and Mickey.
Belinda, That’s exactly the kind of thing I want to worry about…
Thanks.
8:35 pm on April 18th, 2008
I highly doubt anyone is upset over your plans. Disney was what it was about. (And no, it was not a poor choice despite what Adam thinks, it’s what you said you wanted.)
I had hoped to get the trip and tickets free, well, I had the trip but you can’t know how soon you’d need to get going. But it’s not about MY plans. It’s always been wanting you to have as much cash as possible so maybe you could do other things.
Nobody is mad at you…at least no one has said anything to me or I’d tell them to fuck off. Don’t worry what other people might say or think. There aren’t nearly as many idiots as there are a huge number of people who want to help.
8:57 pm on April 18th, 2008
Giving them a vacation where they can be carefree to do what they want and where all four of us can relax with Mickey Mouse is the best gift in the world right now.
I don’t have to think about cancer until I come back. It’s like a freakin’ cancer vacation.
Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you….
9:38 pm on April 18th, 2008
I just wanted you to get to Disney and if it’s happening then that’s all I could have asked for and I’m very happy to hear the 4 of you will be able to enjoy the magic together. But if you still need those miles…
7:14 pm on April 19th, 2008
That is the worst spam comment I’ve ever seen!
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