We're almost there!

This is the absolute best feeling!  You are almost there; the welcome sign is within your reach.  No matter how many times I make this trek, I still well up when I get close to this sign.  I don't think that it is actually the sign at all, but it is all that this welcome sign represents to me.  When we cross through these gates, we enter the land of today, tomorrow, and yesterday.  We leave all of our worries and troubles behind and for a little while, we can be unburdened by all the difficulties of regular life.  Everything is clean and organized once you pass through this sign.  There are no hovels or dilapidated buildings.  There is nothing upsetting.  

Let me give you some background on why this is so important to us.  We live in New Orleans, and things here are better than they were directly following Hurricane Katrina, but everything is definitely not back to normal.  There are still buildings with water lines that have been boarded up and abandoned.  There are still areas of town that have been untouched since the storm.  Needless to say, this is very depressing.  I am sick of looking at all of the destruction and ugliness.  Now, my area has come back relatively well.  My house is fine, but I love the verdant flowers, trees, and lovely scenery that surrounds Disney World.  If we could stay here forever, I would.  Hey, maybe one day we might. 

For now, I will just have to content myself with passing through this gateway into another place where we can have fun, forget our worries, and just concentrate on participating in the magic that is so palpable in this little slice of heaven nestled in central Florida.