The Real Sleeping Beauty Part II...

Rose: Oh, a prince. [birds twitter] Well, he’s tall and handsome and—and so romantic. [birds twitter] Oh, we walk together and talk together. And just before we say goodbye he takes me in his arms…and then…I wake up. [birds sigh] Yes, it’s only in my dreams. But they say, if you dream a thing more than once it’s sure to come true…and I’ve seen him so many times.

December 10^th and April 20^th are beyond difficult days. To say I want to celebrate them is wrong. Celebrate is not what is done anymore. For 21 years I celebrated December 10^th. Now it is a day remembering that I gave birth to a baby girl that is no longer here to celebrate with. April 20^th is totally different. There is no celebration, no party, no Heather. How do you survive the day your life changed and world ended? 

Each time April 20^th comes around I want to do something to remember the day. It isn’t that I forget, but I feel right now that I need something to commemorate the date. My Rodel Gonzales “Tangled” painted, my Heather diamond and burying Heather’s ashes have been the past ways I have remembered April 20^th. I have also released balloons, had a remembrance gathering, put out luminaries and painted at Ben’s Bells to remember Heather.

This year was different, harder and more difficult for an unknown reason to me. I made the decision to go to Disneyland for April 20^th back in the fall of 2012. It seemed like a good idea at the time but as the trip got closer it seemed that maybe it wasn’t the right thing to do. For me it seemed weird to not be “with” Heather for the day she died. We have season passes to Disneyland but I knew that Saturday April 20^th was blocked out. We would not be able to go into the park. I decided to do other things and to go to the beach. Heather loved the beach and it seemed like a good way to remember her away from home. I placed 4 mylar balloons at her grave before we left.

I had no idea what Saturday April 20^th would bring. No clue as to how I would feel or what emotions would be running wild. We arrived at the hotel Thursday night so that bright and early Friday we could hit the Parks. We walked around Down Town Disney looking at the big Disney store and all the other shops. Most of the stores were closed and we just window shopped. I had no idea that a simple walk looking in store windows would absolutely make my entire trip. Disney has a new Art Gallery called WonderGround. It mostly has modern art and is really a hip gallery. I have looked thru it before but never really found anything that I really liked. As I peered into the Gallery window I saw a painting that I was instantly drawn to. It was beautiful, stunning and I immediately knew that this was probably the painting I would be going home with.

I had to find just the right painting and I needed to look at the other 2 galleries before I decided for sure. Friday, while in California Adventure I found one that was okay, but there was no price. When I asked about it I decided to ask about the painting I had seen in WonderGround the night before. I didn’t know who the artist was, or the name of the painting. (Every painting has a name) Disney staff being the friendly accommodating people that they are they called WonderGround to find out about the painting for me. It was called Awaking The Beauty by NOAH. It just happened that NOAH was going to be in Disneyland at the Gallery on Saturday, April 20^th signing his work. I knew that the painting was mine and I needed to see if there was some way I could get NOAH to sign it.

I decided to go back to WonderGround and ask them if NOAH was coming there or could I just get into the park to have him sign my painting. Long story and lots of calls later, I was told that this one time Disney would allow me to carry in the painting if I asked for Brian from the gallery in Disneyland. But this meant I had to pay for a one day admission into Disneyland. When we headed back to the hotel to get jackets and things I decided to see if I could message NOAH on FaceBook and get him to meet me anywhere anytime. I told him my story, left my blog link so he didn’t think me a bigger kook than I already am and my cell phone number. I hoped and prayed he would get back to me.

We headed into Disneyland for the evening. I had my cell phone ringer turned up loud and kept checking it to see if there was any word from NOAH. We ate dinner and headed to the perfume shoppe to get my painted bottle. When I came out I checked my phone and realized I had missed a call from someone in California, I KNEW this was NOAH and I had missed it. I called the number back and left a voice mail. It was maybe a few minutes after that when I received a text message from NOAH himself telling me he could help and would meet me on his lunch hour. The emotions that ran thru me were incredible. I was on cloud 200. Somehow thru social media and my determination of “the worst they can say is NO”, I had done it. I had contacted the artist and was going to meet him and have him sign my painting. The one last hurdle was to see if WonderGround would allow me to keep the painting there for the night and not carry it back and forth. With night manager approval I was able to buy the painting and leave it there in the office till after NOAH signed it.

Morning came and here is the dreaded day, April 20^th. I just felt numb, like I was watching myself go thru the motions of the day. We ate our normal beignets and walked around the Disneyland Hotel and Paradise Pier Hotel. Just killing time till I heard from NOAH. We found the Disneyland Hotel Rose Garden Courtyard where the weddings are held. It was beautiful with all the different roses that were there. Then right about noon I received a message from NOAH that he was heading to WonderGround. Here was the moment I had been waiting for. We immediately headed over so we would not keep him waiting. NOAH is the nicest guy ever. He signed my painting and also drew Mickey’s Sorcerer’s Hat. He did this effortlessly. It was simply amazing to watch him work. Then it was photo time. He had his camera/video guy with him. A hug later and he was off to lunch. He in no way had to accommodate my request. I deeply appreciate his kindness more than he could ever know.

 

We then went to Huntington Beach. It was the beach that we took the girls too in 1996. Heather loved the ocean. I asked the girls not to get too wet. Before I knew it Heather was wet up to her waist. Later in life she would love Myrtle Beach and spend her vacations there with Lynn. I actually have never written my name or anyone else’s name in the sand. I have only been to the beach one time that I remember and that was in 1996. We went later in the day so there were not that many people. I had to try several times to write Heather’s name in the sand as the tide was washing my attempts away before I could get a picture. I did manage to get one and get a picture of it. I also got hit by some waves that were a bit higher than I expected and I got wetter than I had intended. I felt bad, but I was getting cold and didn’t have a heavier jacket or a blanket. Sunset is the best time for pictures and I have never seen one, I will have to wait for another time, as I just couldn’t take being chilly any longer. It took me halfway thru dinner sitting under an outdoor heater to finally warm up. But it was a glorious time at the beach and I think I need more days at the beach, with the proper items I need.

I know you, I walked with you once upon a dream.