A Special Little Girl Named Ingrid.

I feel like the last couple of posts have shown the ups and downs I have been going through. Obviously my posts about Training show some of the downs. To say I was in serious self-doubt mode is an understatement. I have since come to realize that pretty much everyone goes through that during training. I think I mentioned in that post that I remember being hard on myself and having similar doubts when I went through attendant training. It really makes you wonder if the self doubt breakdowns during training is like built in. I especially feel like during character training they are really hard on you. If its on purpose I think that is BS. But its just as likely that its me. lol

I also have been having some costuming issues which have resulted in serious upper back/shoulder/neck pain. To the point where on Saturday and Sunday night I just came home and laid down because I was in so much pain. Those few days were really hard. But the point of this post is to say that even with these hardships I have begun to experience the pure magic that can be had with my role.

In fact the first truly magical moment I had was on Sunday, one of the days where I was in intense pain. I was working with Mickey that day and I literally told him that I did not want to put on my outfit and go out there. It was pretty much one of the last things I wanted to do since I knew it would be 45 solid mins of discomfort. But I of course put on my outfit and went out there with him. About 3 families in Mickey met a little girl who honestly changed everything.

Mickey told me that the first thing she said was "Guess what Mickey? I have a boyfriend!", to which Mickey responded with a head nod. She then said "Your my boyfriend Mickey!" He of course gave her a hug. It just got better from there. She explained that she couldn't come visit him all the time anymore because she had moved to Equador. She said "its ok though you know why?" and as she patted her heart she said "because you are right here." Mickey gave her copius hugs and kisses and when she said to not forget her he said that he loved her and that he would never forget her and that she would stay in his heart. This little girls name was Ingrid and she gave Mickey a letter and 2 drawings. Mickey let me take pictures of the drawings so I can share them with yall.

Watching Ingrid with Mickey was magical and for the rest of the set, I forgot the pain I was in and pushed myself to really interact. I am very grateful to Ingrid. She was the first guest to really show me the Magic that I can create when helping my furry friends. My days can be long, tiring, and sometimes painful but my job is one that has incredible potential to make magic and memories. This is something that I knew but didn't really KNOW. I hadn't experienced it until Ingrid and I can't help but be very grateful to her. She will never know how much she touched me. But she is my inspiration to push myself everyday and touch as many people as I can. Just like Mickey told her, she is going to stay in my heart forever.