Carousel of Progress

I'll take "Potpourri" for $400 Alex.

A: Death, taxes, the passage of time, and a never-ending stack of papers to grade.

Q: What are things that we can be sure of?

I've truly enjoyed my Christmas break this year. Haven't done a lick of work (though that will have to change starting today - classes start again on Thursday!), and that's left me with lots of time to play with the kids, chat with Husband, go on a couple of day trips, and look at all the photos on our hard drive. I started looking at Christmases Past, then I started looking at trips we've taken, goofy shots of the kids - everything, really.

As I went through the photos, what struck me is how at each stage - newly married, new house, adding a child, adding a 2nd child.... we have been convinced that we were in the best stage of life. Even now, I'm absolutely loving it as we move from having babies & toddlers to having preschoolers. It's a whole new era of independence, but still full of the magic of childhood.

We were able to tap into that magic earlier this week. For their Christmas present, we took the kids to the Magic Kingdom (Disneyworld). It was a truly wonderful day, and one that I should probably blog about soon.

Today, however, I'm thinking about one of the last rides we did - the Carousel of Progress. This was one of the rides entirely created by Walt Disney himself, and features a family every 20 years or so through the 20th (and now 21st!) century. At each stop you see all the nifty new inventions that have made their lives easier. As you rotate through the stops, they sing their theme song.

Apparently, the theme song is a bit controversial. Mainly because there are 2 of them. There was the original, which was played at the World's Fair and at Disneyland, and then there's the new version when the ride moved to Disneyworld. If you go to Disneyworld now, however, they've changed it back to the original song.

More than a few people I guess didn't like the new song, but if you grew up in the late 80s/early 90s like I did, it's rather nostalgic to read the lyrics, and very appropriate as we are about to roll over into a New Year. (I am doing this from memory, but I'm pretty sure these are the lyrics.)

Now is the time
Now is the best time
Now is the best time of your life
Life is a prize
Live every minute
Open your eyes & watch how you win it
Yesterday's memories may sparkle & gleam
Tomorrow is still but a dream
Right here & now
You've got it made
The world's forward marching & you're in the parade!!

Happy New Year to you and yours and I hope you find 2008 to be a wonderful blessing!