Day 593: Good Times and the Tears

My friend wrote a blog post the other day and then proceeded to tell me that there was an Illuminations reference in it and the second I got around to reading it, I would pick it out instantly.

I did.

Now, I haven't met many people in my life who love Illuminations quite like I do. Literally, as you guys well know, that fireworks show and the music is my LIFE. It means more to me than anything else honestly, other than maybe Spaceship Earth, and I will cry like no other the day it leaves. I'll probably force my way to Disney just for the last performance itself, even if I have to fly down at some weird hour to get there. That's how much it means to me.

But since finding out that we were going to Walt Disney World with the high school band, my friend Ashley took it upon herself to listen to the music basically on repeat. And I mean on repeat. Once a day, at least, for almost 300 days she listened to the soundtrack for Illuminations, and honestly that number quickly racks up against my own infinite amount of time spent listening to it.

There's more to Illuminations than just the music during the show, however. In fact, there's much more, and yeah, I'm talking about "Promise." I talked about this song a really long time ago. We're talking the first month of this blog long time ago, but I do faintly remember it. I talked about the "Soundtrack of my Life" I had to make for Psychology and how I threw Promise on as a bonus track because it basically defines my life and my childhood.

What I didn't expect was for it to define my time with the high school band the the band trip to Walt Disney World itself.

I mean, just think about it. The line Ashley featured in her blog post, "Through the Good Times and the Tears," very much describes my trials and tribulations with the band, especially as we move on to the next great adventure. And so, now Promise has an entirely new meaning to go along with the significance it already carried.

I can honestly say that I never thought I'd be able to share something like that with one of my friends, much less more than one friend. Nor did I ever believe I'd be able to say that we're all going back. This is my home, and now I get to share that home with my friends. They understand what I'm talking about, although maybe they do still get a bit lost when it comes to me talking Disney history with my brother. And it just goes to show that no matter what, through the good times and the tears, there are a few things that will always be with us, whether that be each other or Disney or the perseverance we've shown over the past year and a half.

Have a magical day!

(Note: This blog post was written on August 18).