Since I’m not quite ready or in a place where I want to share about the pain of “yielding fruit” as I mentioned in Chapter One, I decided to go to a place of happier times. My first visit to the Magic Kingdom was summer of 1974…I think. My only evidence is a picture I remember of my younger sister sitting in a stroller by the Matterhorn with a plastic drinking straw up her nose. By deductive reasoning, it couldn’t have been 1973 since she was born in June of that year and wouldn’t have been sitting yet; it couldn’t have been 1975 because I remember at the time we still lived in an old upstairs apartment across the street from my second grade happy place – the public library. And my last shred of evidence is that my sister was dressed in shorts and a tank top. This proves it was summer because there is no way that my very Asian mother would dress her child in anything less than clothing fit for Nanook of the North unless it was a sweltering hot summer day.
Growing up in Southern California had many advantages, one of which was frequent pilgrimages to the Magic Kingdom. Those were the days of ticket books instead of computer generated passes. Those were also the days when being seven years older than your sibling enabled you to negotiate trading “A” tickets for coveted “E” tickets. Shame on me for taking advantage of a five year old, but what was I supposed to do with leftover tickets for the carousel or horse-driven buggy rides when Space Mountain tickets were sitting idly in her unassuming little hands? Many happy memories originated right there on Main Street where so many get their first glimpses of the most recognized castle in the world.
I would have never thought that 36 years later I’d be running a half marathon through this castle with my daughter.
So, what’s all the hype about running the Disneyland Half Marathon which now sells out in an hour despite being THE most expensive half marathon in the world? My favorite spectator poster on the course last year at Mile 10 said “Keep going! Only $44.67 left!” And yet, I continued for the fifth year in a row to pay the exorbitant registration fee, travel, and hotel costs for this one “magical” race. I suppose everything about Disney is somewhat magical as seemingly anything with its branding turns a profit faster than the Splash Mountain roller coaster. But why do folks like me buy into all the hype?
I suppose the real magic is Disney’s memory-making ability.
They are creating and selling memories. This Labor Day weekend Natalie and I will once again traverse the streets of Anaheim and both Disney parks in our quest for another giant signature “D” medal from the happiest place on Earth. I have looked forward to this weekend every year since we first began the tradition five years ago.
In fact, each year it becomes more important than the last.
But it is not as a result of magical Disney branding. We decided after the first year that THIS would be our annual mother-daughter bonding trip. As I’m writing, it occurs to me that this tradition began Natalie’s sophomore year in high school – looking back now, a simpler time. Since then, many milestones have come and gone. Meagan starting high school. Driver’s license. College visits. Nat graduating high school. First jobs. First year in college. Teaching third grade. Hanging on to our home and marriage after four years of real estate downturn. New business opportunities for Dave. And realizing my parents are aging…memory loss progressing. Why are traditions so important now? Proverbs 3:1-4 comes to mind:
“My son, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart, for they will prolong your life many years and bring you peace and prosperity. Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man.”
Bind them around your neck…like a giant Disney medal? Okay, that might be a stretch but one that helps me visualize a beautiful picture of what God deems worthy to pass on to our children. Life events, achievements, milestones, circumstances… These will come and go. Some will be marked with grand celebrations. Some with flowers or a card. Most will be remembered in photos. Some might be painfully forgotten. Surely God knows our hearts. After all, He did create them.
He knows we long for emotional ties, deeper relationships, to be understood, and to create meaningful, lasting memories.
The giant Disney medal reminds me of God’s love and faithfulness year after year. A lot of life has happened since I first talked Natalie into running this race with me. And a lot of life missed. I think about the many times I came home from work emotionally drained and too tired to make dinner much less know the struggles of my kids. Too tired to listen to Dave talk about amazing new clients finally closing escrow on their dream home. Too preoccupied with students struggling in my own class. Too many essays and worksheets to grade. Too many repetitive phone calls from my mom reminding me that her memory was starting to fail.
It’s not that the medal or going to Disneyland makes it all better or erases a year’s worth of failures.
Rather, it’s one of many God-given opportunities to create new memories and to bond with my child. As the years go by, quicker each time, I see both of my daughters in a new light. Each year my prayers for them have evolved – sometimes as subtly as their expensive haircuts and sometimes as drastically as their iPhone data usage. But one prayer has remained steadfast since they were preschoolers:
“Lord, I pray Your Word would be deeply rooted in their hearts and that their lives would reflect it.”
Each year family members become busier and busier, and traditional gatherings become harder and harder to orchestrate. With extended family, these are usually the gatherings when we find out about new jobs, new relationships, new achievements, and new challenges. I suppose this is one of the benefits of social media like Facebook – a quick and easy way to find out what’s going on in everyone’s lives. At the height of my own busyness last year, I did not realize where Dave had flown for a business trip until I saw a friend’s comment on his Facebook post. How did I allow myself to become so out-of-touch with my own husband?
How will I know if my prayers for my family are being answered if I don’t spend time with them to see these prayers come to fruition?
Some people have the means to just throw money at a problem if they are too busy to handle it themselves. A few years ago I read an article in a magazine about “outsourcing parenting.” The article talked about how busy parents have become and are now enabled by services that will even teach their child to ride a bike. One of my fondest memories as a parent is teaching my own kids how to ride their bikes. I can’t imagine relegating that joy to a stranger with no vested interest other than to make money.
Maybe reading that article made me feel a little better about myself, but it shouldn’t have.
Good news! Disney doesn’t have the monopoly on memory-making. When we choose to partner with the Creator of our hearts in making meaningful memories, it goes a long way. When we choose to write His Word on our hearts and make sure our families see evidence of this choice, it is priceless. In fact, MasterCard and Disney only touch the surface of fulfilling childhood dreams and building family legacies.
Proverbs 3 is God’s invitation to us to take His hand like a little child takes that of his parent.
As we walk hand-in-hand through the “magic kingdom,” He loves to tell me every detail of how He built the different lands and rides. He has a twinkle in His eye as He recounts how He couldn’t wait for me to ride that first ride. I want to immediately go on the “big rides,” but He says I’m not tall enough yet and could get hurt. I also really want some popcorn, a churro, and a caramel apple since they all look and smell so tempting. He firmly looks me in the eyes to tell me that these things will spoil my appetite, and then I won’t enjoy the amazing meal He already has planned for me. We stop often to sit at the many shaded benches along the way to rest. During those times of rest, I get to sit so close to Him that I can feel His heartbeat and His breath on my shoulder. Ah, and then the fireworks – His handiwork at its grandest and most creative. The power, beauty, and danger simultaneously orchestrated; yet I feel completely safe and secure holding His hand.
I never want this day to end.
In the heart of Disneyland there stands the famous statue of Walt Disney holding Mickey’s hand. Simply named “Partners,” this statue represents Walt’s vision when creating his magical theme park:
“I think most of all what I want Disneyland to be is a happy place…Where parents and children can have fun, together.”
Together. A word that has taken me nearly a lifetime to realize its importance. I love that J.R.R. Tolkien wrote in Lord of the Rings, “Books ought to have good endings. How would this do: and they all settled down and lived together happily ever after?” Most fairy tale endings omit the word “together.” I suppose togetherness is implied. But what I have come to realize recently is that I need to be very intentional about togetherness. I need to plan it, carve out time for it, implement it, prioritize it, do it, and find joy in it. When Dave and I were dating, a defining point in our relationship came when we found we could enjoy each other’s company at a laundromat just folding laundry.
Finding joy in the mundane. It really didn’t matter what we were doing, the point was just being together.
I have also found this point to be true in my relationship with Jesus. I have often sought out remote, scenic locations to spend time reading my Bible and chatting it up with God. I don’t have to go very far; several parks in our neighborhood are nice, as is the nearby Lafayette Reservoir which also makes for a great hill run after my coffee and devotional time. Last Easter vacation, I was feeling restless and drove out to Monterey by myself for a run along the coast thinking that would bring me peace and “togetherness” with the Lord. It ended up being a really long drive, an average run, and not the awe-filled-heard-angels-singing experience I tried to manufacture that day.
I was reminded that God just wants to be with little ol’ me every day, every moment, even in the most mundane activities and places. The cost for this lesson: a tank of gas. The benefits: priceless.
And so was our fifth year running the Disneyland Half Marathon. The race itself has never been a PR (personal record) type of event since many runners stop to pose with the many Disney characters along the route. And who can resist the photo opportunity running through the famed castle?! Countless memories are now attached to these Disney icons with every turn on the course. And speaking of the course, it is not limited to the theme parks as it traverses its way to Angel Stadium via major streets of Anaheim. Once inside the stadium, Disney manages to assemble crowds of volunteer organizations such as Girl and Boy Scout troops (rewarded with free Disney admission for their 5 am appearance) to cheer runners on. Met by applause, high fives, posters, and cheers, runners also catch their images on the jumbo-tron as the announcer calls out names electronically received from the timing chips on race bibs. Yep, it is kind of cool to hear “Irene from San Ramon!” booming over the speakers in that special announcer voice. (Doesn’t it sound like the same voice no matter which sports stadium you’re in?)
This year, a non-audible voice also cheered me on when I needed it most.
I usually hate Mile 11 since the heat of the day has hit the streets, it is not a particularly interesting part of the route, and I’m just tired. I even prayed specifically this day for this section of the run to go by faster or to just run it with a better attitude. Almost right after the Mile 11 signage, a runner with a lime green t-shirt appeared in front of me.
The back of his shirt had Isaiah 40:31 written: “But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will RUN and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”
Funny thing, the last two miles weren’t so bad after that. Besides crossing the finish line with Mickey, Minnie, and various other characters high-fiving (fouring) runners, my other favorite moment is the post-race gathering. By this time, Natalie and I have received our medals, cooling towels, Powerade, snack box, and taken photos by the official race photographers from which some of the most de-moralizing, unattractive pictures of myself have come as I can’t think of a moment when I would look as disgusting as after a race.
And yet, these become some of my favorite photos.
The post-race atmosphere is truly a celebration. In this barricaded area right outside Downtown Disney, thousands of runners and family members gather. Natalie and I got our requisite ice bags from the medical tent and plunked our sore, sweaty bodies down on seemingly the most comfortable asphalt ever. With the finish line jumbo-tron in view, we sit with ice bags on various body parts, simultaneously stretching and eating the contents of our Disney snack boxes. Last year, the jumbo-tron caught several finish line marriage proposals. You gotta love a couple that runs a half marathon together, right? Sure sign that this marriage will last? Maybe if you’re the couple that ran dressed as Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia then had a non-running friend hand the guy the ring at the finish line as well as a sign that said “Will you join forces with me?” She said “Yes.”
Many emotions and reasons for celebration can be observed as we continue to sit, stretch, and ice ourselves.
We see runners wearing shirts from out-of-state and even out-of-country. (Dave would say out-of-mind.) We see half-marathoners as young as twelve and as old as eighty. For some, this was their first race ever. For some, it was a bucket list item. For some, it was the crowning achievement after overcoming health issues.
For me, it was enjoying a sport I have come to love with someone I have always loved.
As we survey the crowds around us, Natalie and I always comment on runners wearing multiple race medals. We have a bit of bling envy but soon talk ourselves out of it because to be wearing the two to five possible race medals you had to have run a 5K, 10K, and half marathon and completed one of these at Disneyland and Disney World within one year. Someday I might do the Coast to Coast Challenge. And while I’m at it, I might as well do the Dopey Challenge which is running the 5K, 10K, half marathon, and full marathon in four consecutive days for a total of 48.6 miles and six medals. (Dave would say dopey, for sure.) Once again, the magic of Disney marketing is at hand. Why else would I ever even consider traveling cross country to run that many miles in one weekend? Those better be some impressive medals. But I do believe somehow those six medals – no matter how huge and impressive – wouldn’t mean as much to me as the one I get from running with Natalie each year.
Together. A word that embodies so much of what running has come to mean in my life.
I often receive the most clarity when I am running. Heightened prayers, verses illustrated before my eyes, coming to the end of my own abilities, and learning to run in Jesus’ footsteps. You could say that running alone has taught me the importance of running together.
