Critics might say that a parking lot is the unlikeliest of places for Disney magic to happen but they don’t know what you and I know – that the real magic of Disney isn’t found on Main Street or in a gift shop or even on any ride in the parks. The true magic of Disney is what happens inside of you when wonder and hope begin to take root and you start to believe that anything can happen with a little bit of magic.
Even joy.
Whew! Cue the waterworks from this mom. I KNOW I just wrote an article yesterday about how I didn’t have a magical childhood, but for kids who come from very hard places, sometimes some “magic” IS required to help them heal. And for Gardner’s daughter, that magic came in the form of the love, dedication and careful planning of a mom who was willing to go above and beyond the call to help her daughter’s heart open up and let JOY in. And I gotta be honest, I think she picked a pretty AMAZING venue to help her on her way.
Foster care is so much more than a magical vacation, but Gardner’s story is one of the true beauty from ashes that those in the foster care trenches see every day. Thanks, Amy Beth, for shining a light on how important these sweet kids are and how they need and deserve to be joyfully cared for. <3
