Our Love Story: Part 23

Preface: If you’ve missed any of the “chapters” of our love story so far, go back & get caught up before continuing below!
Part 1 — Part 2 — Part 3 — Part 4 — Part 5 — Part 6 — Part 7 — Part 8 — Part 9 — Part 10 — Part 11 — Part 12 — Part 13 — Part 14 — Part 15 — Part 16 — Part 17 — Part 18 — Part 19 — Part 20 — Part 21 — Part 22

Before the sun came up on May 8th, I crawled out of bed, tossed my purse & my small duffle bag into my little red car – and I was off.

My flight left at 6:15am, but all the websites said you needed to arrive at the airport at least 2 hours before your plane was scheduled to leave. So, by 4am, I was pulling into the Orlando International Airport parking lot. Derrick had tried to warn me that I really did not need to arrive that early – that the airport would be dead at that time of morning, but I wasn’t taking any chances.

I had never flown before (unless you count that time when I was 4 years old – the entirety of my memories being that we were on a large plane – it had 2 aisles – and my baby sister Ellen screamed quite a bit of the way). So, I had never flown before – and being my first time flying plus my first time flying by myself, I wanted to be early.

I strolled into the terminal and it was dead as a doornail. I waltzed thru security, beaming, just thrilled to be at the airport (the poor security personal probably thought I was crazy) and I found my way to my gate. I plopped down in a seat – it was just me & the maintenance guy cleaning the floors – I glanced at my iPod: it was 4:30am. Well, at least I’m ready!

At 6:15am, I left Orlando, Florida for the first time in 5 months. And I fell in love with flying. Since we were flying up the East Coast & I had a window seat on the right side of the plane, I watched the sun rise – it was simply magical – the perfect way to begin an amazing day.

By 9am, I was getting off the plane in Philadelphia and Derrick was picking me up – it was a big day! We grabbed some pastries on our way from the airport back to Valley Forge Christian College and Derrick filled me in on the plan for the day – his parents were on their way and his graduation ceremony began at 3pm.

“Unfortunately, I don’t have anything too exciting planned – I do have to take care of a bunch of little things. You don’t mind following me around for a little bit, do you?”

Of course I didn’t mind: I was simply happy to be in the same state as my boyfriend!

We drove around VFCC, Derrick reminiscing about his time at college, showing me the campus with fresh eyes. He had technically graduated at the end of the fall semester, but since “Graduation Day” is in the spring, he was back for the big event.

Derrick picked up his cap & gown, he stopped in to the music building to say hi to Mr. Zuch, stopped in to the office to drop off some paperwork, & we grabbed some quick lunch at McDonalds. Then, he took me to his little basement apartment where he was currently living post-college-life & introduced me to the sweet older lady who was renting to him – he changed clothes & it was time! 

We drove back over to VFCC where we met up with Derrick’s parents. Students were milling all over the campus decked out in their caps & robes – there was an air of celebration & accomplishment in the air. Everyone was excited. We moved into the auditorium & I sat in the audience with Derrick’s Mom & Dad, trying desperately to keep an eye on where Derrick was in the sea of black robes & caps.

Graduation was long. Longer than I’d expected. Multiple professors & faculty members spoke, the choir sang, a few students spoke, and then finally they went thru the process of calling each student on stage to present their diploma. About midway thru the ceremony, that 3am wakeup call hit me like a freight train & I struggled desperately to stay awake (which is probably why I have such vague memories of Derrick’s graduation ceremony!)

Officially graduated – I waded with Derrick’s parents thru the sea of people out onto the lawn, looking slightly above everyone else’s heads, trying to spot my giant of a boyfriend. We stood & caught up with Caleb & Steph for a few minutes & then Derrick declared: “Let’s get out of here,” and we left.

Derrick & I followed his parents back to their house in his beloved white Jeep Cherokee. It was about a 3 ½ hour drive from Valley Forge Christian College to Milan, PA. I couldn’t have been happier. I was simply thrilled to be in Pennsylvania again, with my favorite person in the entire world – as an entire 3-day weekend stretched out before us.

With the “main event” (graduation) of the weekend over, we simply spent a long, relaxing weekend in northeast Pennsylvania. We played card games with Derrick’s parents, ate brownies, and Derrick officially said “Goodbye” to his Jeep. It was on it’s last legs & simply not reliable anymore, so it was time for it to go. Derrick parked it in the front lawn of his parent’s church with a “For Sale” sign posted. It only took a few days before someone stopped & bought it.

On Sunday evening, Derrick’s parents planned a small graduation party for him and everyone from the church came. Some of Derrick’s extended family members also made the trip to attend the party & it was my first time meeting Derrick’s Grandparents & some of his cousins. I loved being introduced as “Derrick’s girlfriend” and everyone wanted to know all about working at Walt Disney World.

Monday came all too quickly & after lunch, Derrick & I left his parent’s house in his “new-to-him” Ford Focus (the car that was replacing his Jeep). It wasn’t quite as rough & manly as his Jeep & his head just about grazed the ceiling of the little car, but it would do for the time being. As we pulled out of the driveway, we set sail into the most “tricky” part of our weekend together.

My flight left Philadelphia at 11:20am on Tuesday morning, so unless we were going to wake up super early to make the 3 ½ hour drive back from his parent’s house, we needed to leave Monday to head back to the Philly area. There was just the slight trick of where I would stay that night: our options were limited & not really knowing what else to do, Derrick had asked his land-lady if I could sleep in her guest bedroom upstairs. She was so sweet & understanding & she said, “Yes.”

We had dinner with her Monday night, but then she left us alone for the rest of the evening. We watched a movie down in Derrick’s studio-style apartment, and then I cozied up in the large four-poster bed in the guest room upstairs.

Tuesday morning dawned bright blue & beautiful and sadly, also time to leave Pennsylvania. Derrick & I grabbed breakfast on our way to the airport, and then without much fanfare, he dropped me off at the terminal & drove away. I was heartbroken – what was I doing flying back to Florida? Why had I extended my time at Disney? Why hadn’t I just completed my program & come home?

By 1:47pm, my flight was landing back in Orlando. I was distraught: had I done the right thing in extending my College Program?

Thankfully, I didn’t have much time to think about it because as soon as I arrived back, I was whisked into the process of moving. I said goodbye to my first set of roommates & moved across Vista Way to another apartment building with a brand new set of roommates. It was another 3-bedroom apartment with 5 new girls that I had never met before, but all of whom had extended their spring programs to stay working at Walt Disney World for another 3 months. We all moved in together & I very quickly bonded with 3 of my new roommates. A girl from Puerto Rica was in the 3rd bedroom & we never saw her. In fact, the only reason we knew she existed was that whenever she came into our apartment, she would turn our air conditioning off. This was Florida, in the summer – air conditioning is a necessity, but she hated it & would just switch it off.

Four days after I had left Derrick back in Philadelphia, I was saying another round of “Goodbyes” – this time to my family at the Emporium. I had loved my time working in merchandise, on Main Street, in the Magic Kingdom – the number one attraction in the park. My managers were incredible, my fellow college interns were amazing, and the full-time cast members so sweet, helpful, and loving on us with open-arms. Leaving them was so hard.

The next day, before I began officially training for the PhotoPass team, I ran to the store to grab a couple of items that I had been told I would need – that were not provided by costuming.

Myself, along with two other girls, had been placed into the PhotoPass team in the waterparks: Blizzard Beach & Typhoon Lagoon. And we had been told that we would need either sandals or Crocs – shoes that we could walk in the water in – and it was strongly suggested that we wear a bathing suit underneath our tan PhotoPass costumes. I hated the idea of wearing Crocs, so I set out to find sandals that would meet the strict Disney dress code. I visited 10 different stores over a 3 ½ hour span & could not find anything. As a very last resort, I ended up at WalMart, buying a pair of knock-off Crocs.

As training for PhotoPass began, I learned that one PhotoPass team worked both parks & I was introduced to that family. They were a tight-knit group of seasoned photographers – tanned from their long days in the Florida sun. They taught the 3 of us new interns the ropes: not just about photography, but about guest relations, how to stay hydrated at all costs, and how to have an amazing time. They gave us all sorts of tips & tricks that weren’t exactly part of our “training” – the best sun lotion to use, how to make friends with & help the lifeguards out, and best yet: where to find a pair of sandals that met Disney standards so that I could return my awful, ugly Crocs.

It would have been very easy for the Waterpark PhotoPass team to simply brush us off as “interns” – we were only going to be around for a few months, after all. But, for the most part, they accepted us with open-arms & did the very best they could to make us feel welcome & part of the team.

I loved being a PhotoPass photographer and as much as I missed Derrick, I was so thankful that I had extended my program & stayed at Walt Disney World.

..Part 24 coming soon!