June 2016 was the hardest month of my life because it was the day my brother and I lost our sweet dad and my family lost an amazing son, brother, and uncle. The time seems both so long and short. I am still so grateful for all of my memories with my dad, and honestly, the most precious of these has been Disney. In so many ways, Disney, a HUGE part of my childhood, has helped create a kind treasure chest in my heart and safe place in my mind for his memories to rest. The childhood nostalgia Disney provides has been an irreplaceable comfort for me, as silly as that may sound.

From the time I was a little girl, a collection of Disney movies has lined our entertainment center shelves and run through the VCR (I even found several copies of movies like “The Little Mermaid” and “The Jungle Book” that my mama recorded before eventually buying the copies…that’s dedication). Today, that collection has been steadily replenished into DVDs . I was Disney-doomed from the beginning. From the time I was in elementary school, winter trips to Walt Disney World Resort (and occasionally Universal Studios) in Orlando with my dad and his side of the family (all the aunts and cousins my age, as well as my brother) became an annual event. As time progressed, I regularly expected by the time Christmas season approached, my dad would ask me when we were out for school for winter break to ensure he booked the Disney hotel at the right time. Slowly, I grew from an elementary school student into a middle school student, from a middle school student into a high school student, and from a high school student into a college student. Slowly over time, our Disney trips came with fewer and fewer family members, but I was always dedicated to going there with my dad. I couldn’t even imagine giving up one of those trips.

At his funeral, my aunt called him the “Piper of children” because “everywhere he went, a trail of children followed”. I think that my dad's genuine love of children made it so that he enjoyed child-like adventures along side my brother and myself. The inner child that my dad embraced and reflected is something I’m extremely happy to have inherited. Up until our last trip to Walt Disney World Resort together, I always made him follow me around and take photos of me with Minnie Mouse ears or next to my favorite scenery or characters. My dad was the BEST camera man, and no one in the family would tell you otherwise. In my heart, I am sure that my future endeavors to Disney will be fulfilled with my dad’s memory by the side. I want to continue this tradition, even if it's not every year, with my own family someday because it has true meaning to me, especially now. Every time I take a ride on Space Mountain, stand for a photo in front of Cinderella's Castle, or enjoy the Disney fireworks show, I will do so remembering his efforts to put a smile across my face from the time I was a child. I sure hope he knows this somehow: that he brings joy to me every day still, whether it is through a photograph I stumble upon or a birthday card I found tucked away in my dresser drawer.

Disney memories have truly been an amazing thing for me to share and associate with my daddy. It’s simply comforting. Disney isn’t just for little girls, because throughout my growing life and into adulthood, it has taught me so much. In many Disney movies, the main character has just one surviving parent, but still thrives on the loving memories of the one who has passed. Remember Princess Tiana from “The Princess and the Frog”? The memory of her hard-working father made her seemingly impossible dreams a reality. Disney also does a good job of portraying the perfect loving father, just like my own dad. I have learned that happiness is still possible without my dad still physically here on this Earth. How? It is because he is still alive in my heart. I hope that more people can let go of the pride often accompanied by adulthood and learn to embrace the small, "childish" things in life that once made us happy before we realized how the real world could be. Childhood nostalgia is such a precious thing and can hold a great deal of encouragement and inspiration when life gets hard or when unfortunate events occur. The “silly” things we treasured as children, like Disney, can actually become powerful aspects of who we are as people and how we view the world as adults.