Putting it all in perspective

Okay, so everything on the trip didn't go perfectly smoothly.

First we were a little late because I thought I lost the GPS. We spent a half an hour looking for it and were a little late getting to Disneyland because of it. I was afraid I left it on the bumper of the car and I was going to have to figure out how to navigate myself around town old school. (you know, paper maps and asking people for directions)

Finally Nick had an inspired idea, and the GPS was found.

Next, I left my cell phone in the car. Or at least I was 50% sure I left it in the car. 40% me wondered if it was in the hotel room and 10% of me worried I dropped it in a parking lot, or left it at breakfast or something.

That was inconvenient because I was planning on letting the older two take off on their own and go on "scary rides" and check in every once in awhile. Also I was hoping to meet up with another friend and fellow husband-less mom who happened to be there at the same time. I elected to not spend 30-45 minutes dragging the two younger kids back to the car for the 50/50 chance that my phone was there. I kept my eyes open, but never ran into Tricia.

Then after Indiana Jones, Nick informed me he left his glasses on the ride. He went back and hung out with the ride attendants and they sadly informed him his glasses were no where to be found. "Sorry, kid" they said. "Check back later. Maybe someone will turn them in."

I was pretty livid. Despite the fact that I was clearly not guilt-free in the losing things category (although nothing was really lost), his lost glasses really irked me. That would be the second pair lost in less than a year.

So fuming a little, I took the little kids to go for a relaxing train ride around the park while the older two went off to find some thrills. We were going to meet back up in a little bit.

The train arrived at the station and there was a little commotion as a lady tripped and fell off the steps to the train. I heard a little girl cry "Grandma!" and I pulled out the camera to snap some pictures of my boys while I waited for her to be helped up. Maybe she sprained her ankle or something. I wasn't paying a whole lot of attention because I figured the last thing this lady needed was another gawker. (I can relate to falling on my face regularly) The attendants didn't seem too concerned, so I just figured I'd kill some time while we waited for her to be helped up.
Next thing I knew, hysterical kids (her grandkids?) were being rushed away from the scene. I looked over to where she fell and realized she was still down and laying abnormally still. Then I saw the blood pooling under her head.
The attendants suddenly were rushing us all away from the scene, the train was emptied umbrellas were brought over to block the view of curious onlookers. Christopher didn't understand why we were leaving the train station- he looked at me , rubbed his chest in baby sign language, and very deliberately pointed to the train and said "Pwease?"

As we walked away, several thoughts were running through my head. First, I was sure she was dead. Just like that. On vacation with her family, stepping of the train, and then out of the blue she was gone. I knew that head wounds bleed badly, and she could still be fine, but it was the look on the faces of the family members being rushed away that had me fearing the worst.

So there I was, concerned about material things, thinking how my day wasn't going as smoothly as it could, and worrying about replacing glasses and cell phones.

And suddenly I was ashamed.

I was facing a couple minor inconveniences, and this other family was facing a tragedy. Best case scenario, their day at The Happiest Place on Earth was going to be cut short to spend the rest of the day in the hospital with grandma. I was looking at a few hundred dollars to replace the things lost, and who knows how much they were looking at in medical bills. Worst case scenario, Disneyland for them would forever be the place where grandma died.

Things ended on a better note, the cell phone and glasses were found, and a little while after the train incident, I was standing in the middle of a walkway examining a map, when a pushy medical person yelled at me to step to the right. They had a gurney coming through. I was glad to see she seemed conscious (and not covered up by a sheet) although clearly she needed immediate medical attention. I prayed that it was nothing a couple of stitches couldn't fix.

I just hope that the next time I'm dealing with a couple of minor inconveniences, it won't take witnessing somebody else's major problems to put it all in perspective for me. We still had each other, and our good health.

People over possessions.

I'm sure it won't be the last time I let minor things get in the way of the big picture, but hopefully I can recover quickly.