Holidays with Tessa
The holidays are times for traditions, things passed down from generation to generation. My family is no different, but ours might seem a bit strange to some people. Every year, for as long as I can remember, our family planned a December trip to the Happiest Place on Earth. You see, I’ve always been a Disney kid at heart. My house is a perpetual shrine to Uncle Walt’s inspiration and imagination. Let’s face it; how many people can say they have a full-sized Haunted Mansion Hatbox Ghost in their living room? And that doesn’t include the nine-foot tall Jack Skellington that graces our front yard every Christmas. I love the childlike wonder Disney embodies. One of my earliest memories is when my mother took my brother and me to see Fantasia. I was about four years old and I remember it like it was yesterday. Sure, there were other movies, but when Leopold Stokowski made the sun rise at the end of Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D Minor, I was hooked!
Sure, we had your normal traditions, too. Baking cookies with Mom, everyone helping to decorate the tree, and midnight mass on Christmas Eve were standards along with watching “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” and caroling around the block. But Disneyland will always stand out above the rest.
I grew up in Southern California, so it was pretty much a logical destination. Where most kids I knew went camping in the mountains, or down to Mexico, we would take a short train trip to the Magic Kingdom. For me, it was so much more than just a day at an amusement park. It was part of my family. My dad worked for a manufacturing company in San Diego called ROHR Industries and the company was so big, Disneyland used to devote an entire day to its employees and their families. We would stay in the Disneyland Hotel and there was even a photo opportunity set up by the Voyage Through Inner Space attraction. (Extra brownie bonus points for anyone who remembers that ride.) Every year, from elementary school until high school graduation, we would have that photo blown up and framed to hang in the hallway. It was our little fashion time capsule, the decades drifting by as hair styles shrunk and grew.
There is just something magical about Disneyland, and that feeling only grew during the holidays. It’s more than just the beautiful decorations and festive parades. I have so many memories tied into that park. I remember my dad going on the Matterhorn with me since I was the only daredevil in the family who loved roller coasters. I remember shopping at the Emporium with my mom, looking over every tiny figurine in the whole store until I found just the right one. We dined at the Blue Bayou and had breakfast with Goofy. My brother and I would have contests for who got the better score at the shooting gallery. The loser had to try and keep Dad awake on It’s a Small World.
We laughed. A lot. I’m sure there were arguments and tears as well. But time has dimmed those brief moments and I hold on to the good times. I treasured this tradition, even after going on to college. December was Disney time. My father passed away three years after I graduated from college, and my brother and I worked to keep the tradition alive. Sometimes my older sister would join us, other times friends tagged along. Husbands and wives were added to the group, both my brother and I making it very clear to our spouses the importance of the Mouse House. Time marched on and eventually, Mom grew too weak for the annual trip. Two years ago, she joined my dad after their twenty-three years apart.
I’ve strived to keep as many of those standard traditions going. I bake like a fiend from the first of December until Christmas Eve. My tree is always in its little corner and the Grinch and I make sure to get in one good visit. But what makes the holidays truly complete is making that short drive up the coast for some Mickey Therapy. Whether it’s with my brother and his wife, or just my husband and I, I always look forward to the time with family, memories, and Disney.
To Discover a Divine
by Tessa McFionn
Rise of the Stria Book 1
Everlasting
March 20, 2018
Sci-Fi Romance
When Kahlym cal Jhuen, freedom-fighting leader of the Chandar Stria, breaks into a prison ship controlled by the Rimmarian Thrall, he only expected to rescue two of his crew. But when he discovers a terrified female during his escape, he is immediately captivated by her unique beauty and makes a snap decision to bring her with him. However, his good deed backfires as he learns he has stolen the Thrall Emperor’s prize.
Down to her last dollar, Evainne Wagner expected nothing out of the ordinary when she stepped out of the front door of her Boston apartment. Instead, she found herself in the middle of an intergalactic firefight, complete with strange soldiers with deadly looking weapons pointed directly at her. Salvation arrives in the nick of time in the form of a mysterious leather-clad warrior, skidding in and whisking her away. Trusting her heart, she follows, hoping to find answers as well as a way home.
Safely on board his ship, he learns more about her and her rare skills, triggering the memory of a half-forgotten prophecy spoken at the time of his cursed birth. Outcast because of a cruel twist of fate, he finds unexpected acceptance, even affection, from his new passenger.
Could she be the one who holds the future of his people, as well as his own heart, in her tender hands?
About the Author:
Tessa McFionn is a very native Californian and has called Southern California home for most of her life, growing up in San Diego and attending college in Northern California and Orange County, only to return to San Diego to work as a teacher. Insatiably curious and imaginative, she loves to learn and discover, making her wicked knowledge of trivial facts an unwelcomed guest at many Trivial Pursuit boards.
When not writing, she can be found at the movies or at Disneyland with her husband, as well as family, friends or anyone who wants to play at the Happiest Place on Earth. She also finds her artistic soul fed through her passions for theatre, dance and music.
A proud parent of far too many high school seniors and two still living house plants, she also enjoys hockey, reading and playing Words With Friends to keep her vocabulary sharp. She is currently the treasurer of the San Diego chapter of Romance Writers of America and loves spending time working with such amazingly intelligent and creative writers.
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