Foodie Friday ~ A Little Food For Thought

Welcome Foodie Friday Blog Hoppers!

The Taste of Defeat
Location: Disney Parks Moms Panel Former Hopefuls, The Internet
Cost: Putting Yourself Out There


This week is going to be a little different...brought to you by the following scene from Mary Poppins, since she is practically perfect in every way.

Bert: Uncle Albert, I got a jolly joke I saved for just such an occasion. Would you like to hear it?  

Uncle Albert: [sobbing] I'd be so grateful.  

Bert: Well it's about me granddad, see, and one night he has a nightmare. He was so scared, he chewed his pillow to bits. Bits. In the morning, I says, "How you feel, Granddad?" He says, "Oh, not bad. A little down in the mouth." [Bert laughs, Uncle Albert sobs harder]   

Bert: I always say there's nothing like a good joke.  

Uncle Albert: [sobbing] No, and that was nothing like a good joke.

Down in the Mouth is not technically a food, but at least it's a bad pun and those are always funny.

After many inside jokes, mysteries, rumors and hints, the time drew near...

Date and time for the next emails? Or just one really good player and one really lousy Space Ranger?

What time?

I never noticed that Flavor Flav borrowed his fashions from the White Rabbit.

Thursday around two in the afternoon, my dreams of adventure in the great wide somewhere via the 2014 Disney Moms Panel came to a very polite, very encouraging, very magical end. I opened my inbox at the appointed time and read along to the third paragraph beginning "Unfortunately, your application was not selected this year to move forward to Round 3 of the selection process."

The hopefuls still haven't worked out why there are 13 of 3:00 listed.

At last count these rounds weighed in at over 1200 words of essays and a video. They ran over the course of two months and five days (with only a few days in that period for submitting applications and the rest for visiting, hoping and dreaming pixie dust dreams. This being my first year to apply rather than watch from the sidelines, I hadn't realized quite how much you put into the process. I hadn't realized how much I would gain as a hopeful either. Over the rounds several hundred of us hopefuls have shared and lived together through sick and well kids, hopeful and hopeless days, losing and gaining jobs and even births and deaths. We've all gotten to know each other a little love each other a little and generally be friends.

During the second round, I decided to share with a number of my friends that I was going through this process. They all thought I was a shoe in (being as I'm their friend, they're supposed to say that.) So now that I am one of the #DisneyMP #2015Hopeful ladies in waiting, I get to tell all those same people that I didn't make round 3.

Many of my friends took it much harder than I did.

Courtesy of Useful-Disney-Quotes.Tumblr.com

They start out asking if I'm upset or telling me how it's Disney's loss that I'm not on panel. They generally had my back and don't see how I wasn't chosen.

If only they knew what an honor it is to be counted among the moms (and dads) of round two.
If only they knew how very many perfect fit applicants the committee could choose among.
If only they knew how magical and fun and alive carrying around the hope of making the panel made each day.
If only they had the distinct pleasure of meeting the Moms Panel hopefuls who are by and large (I say without any self-promotion as I am now no longer counted among them) a wonderful, warm, caring, group bound by a common love and aim.

Despite (or perhaps because of) the very low odds of actually making the panel, we all rooted for each other and encourage one another as we compete for the same spots. These are some of the most genuine, honest, enthusiastic ladies I've had the pleasure of meeting. Some are quirky, some are fast on the draw and all could draw up a touring plan in their sleep. There are several who I am certain are destined to be on the panel. But I was wrong in my predictions last year, so who knows.

After experiencing the heart break to it's fullest when I (erroneously) did not make round two then the flying hope of actually making round two, the rejection at the bridge to round three just didn't sting. I haven't felt the need for a good long cry, though several Snickerdoodles may have fallen victim to the let down of not continuing on in this year's search.

Basically I am a hundred percent certain that it just isn't meant to be my year on the panel. I am thoroughly content to be a chEARleader on the sidelines for the remainder of the 2014 search.

Marci, this is your year!
And Lauren, I'm pulling for you!
And Anne! And Beth! And Patty(yes, I'm even rooting for a Longhorn) And Justin! And Diane! And Heather! And Andrea! And Autumn! And Leanne! And Kimberly! And Carrie! And Amiyrah! And Suzanne! And Audrey! And Brenda! And Amy! And Melanie! And Carol! And Tanya! And Tricia!

Sadly that's still way too many for this year's panel. But they would all be excellent in that role. So some of them will join me as I wait for Labor Day 2014 to roll around and the whole party to begin all over again. In the meantime, I am not letting this taste of defeat get me down.

I will continue to root for the hopefuls and then the panelists, blog Disney, dream #DisneyMP dreams and continue packing for our winter vacation (Disney Cruise!), countdowns for various future vacations (Disney Cruises!) and planning a major family reunion (Disney Cruise!) for fall 2015.

“Around here, however, we don't look backwards for very long. We keep moving forward, opening up new doors and doing new things, because we're curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.”

~Walt Disney



Faith, Trust and Pixie Dust!

 

P.S. I promise next week I will be back to only food (junk food, gourmet and everything in between) rather than food for thought, I just really wanted to capture these feelings while they were fresh in my mind.

 

P.P.S. Have you ever applied? Would you?