Tags
Disneyland, hugs, joy, love, mentally disabled, Minnie Mouse, photo-op
Just finished several days of accounting paperwork for my mom – something I dislike on many levels. I dropped it off yesterday at an office about 15 minutes from Disneyland. And me with my annual pass conveniently in my wallet.
One of the reasons I like being at Disneyland is the happiness factor: people are on vacation, they’re happy and laughing, little kids are running around and excited, young couples walk around holding hands. Plus, the happiness tends to rub off on me and I always leave smiling.
So I carried a veggie skewer and Coke to my favorite, quiet, “hidden patio” near the water (you can just see my red Coke cup on the table in the far corner), power-walked to release some tension and rode a couple rides.
As I was about to exit, I passed the photo-op station for Minnie Mouse, dressed as a witch for Halloween. There are always Characters positioned around Main Street and lines of kids and parents waiting to take a photo or get an autograph. I hardly notice them anymore. But yesterday was different.
The girl with Minnie seemed much older and bigger than the usual little kid. When I realized she was mentally disabled, I stopped to watch. She kept looking up at Minnie and stroking her face, taking much longer than the usual photo-op. Minnie had an arm around her and waited. No one interfered. No little kid asked what was taking so long. By the time Minnie gently turned the woman around for the picture, I was blinking back tears.
Then, as I was about to turn away, Minnie got down on one knee and spread her arms out wide. A little boy ran to her with unrestrained joy and they gave each other a big hug.
More tears. Maybe it was the unfettered expressions of kindness and love. But what I really think is that sometimes I long for that simplicity of innocence when you can touch and hug a cartoon – and they touch and hug you back.
