A Special Invite and One Last Gift

I have had the wonderful, amazing fortune to apply for and attend Disney’s Social Media Moms On the Road events for the last two years.I have learned so much in these half-day events and leave with so many ideas and memories. I have also made lifelong friends from these events, women who I will be in contact with forever.

Like friends who convinced me I can run a half marathon, and run with you the whole way.

With @DisTherapy – Didi

Besides On the Road events, Disney also offers numerous other social media events throughout the year for ‘the army of Mom bloggers’ as called by Jeremy Renner at the Avengers Age of Ultron  event #AvengersEvent That’s right approximately 40 social media Moms and Dads got to spend two days screening the movie, interviewing the stars. Including Robert Downey, Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, and director Josh Wehdon. I know right….as we say in Rhode Island – what a wicked awesome event!

One especially magical annual event is the Disney Mom Social Media Conference that occurs in a Disney Parks location. Three days of learning, networking and an over the top heap of magic only Disney Parks can bring. Approximately 150 lucky social media Moms and Dads receive this exclusive invite. How Disney selects attendees, no one knows for sure, and that is where the pixie dust comes into play. You don’t apply to attend you just receive a magical invite in your inbox. In the weeks leading up to invitation time, there is a lot of buzz on social media wondering when and who would be invited.

When this tweet went out

I was not on social media. In fact very unlike me I had gone off the grid for a few days. My mother who had been struggling with health issues had made the very brave decision to enter Hospice care. Very quickly and unexpectedly she made a turn for the worse and I raced to be with her in upstate New York. My Mom passed away the evening I arrived at her bedside. It is still a shock to think of her as gone, to talk about her as gone, and I am still at odds if blogging about it is the right thing to do.

Two days after my Mom’s passing I discovered my invite in my email to Disney’s Social Media Mom’s conference. This year the event is scheduled over Mother’s Day Weekend and attendees can bring their families. The rational part of me knows that invites were queued up days in advance, that days or weeks before my Mom’s passing I made the invite list. The part of me that believes in faith, trust and pixie dust sees this invite as a gift from my Mom.

One last gift.

She wanted me to have something very special for Mother’s Day to make the day easier for me and my children, who miss her dearly. She wants my siblings and I to move forward with joy.

Thank you, Disney Parks for this wonderful opportunity.
Thank you, Mom for everything, for always.