Steadman Family

We’ve finalized the vacation plans for San Diego. Here’s the agenda:

Saturday, Feb. 11th - Fly to San Diego, get rental cars, get checked in, stroll along the beach and/or cruise across Mission Bay.

Sunday - Whale watching tour in the morning to be followed by generous amounts of relaxation in the afternoon. We’re planning a dinner party for all 26 of us - this will most likely be the only all hands meal that we’ll have.

Monday - Legoland! Do I need to say more?

Tuesday - We’ll be celebrating Madie’s birthday at Sea World. We meet at the party entrance in front of Sea World at 10:15, take a few “behind the scenes tours” with a guide, enjoy some cake and then head into the park for the rest of the day.

Wednesday - Ben fulfills his wish to feed the elephants at the Wild Animal Park.  We’re not sure how this one works,  but it should  amazing.

Thursday - Fly home, crash into bed and leave unpacking for another day.

A few thanks to handout before we get going:

To our families for being able to drop everything, survive our unsure planning and join us on this trip. Your patience will be rewarded with a wonderful vacation.

To everyone who helped our family in joining us. Whether it was money for airfare or vacation time from work. Thanks for your consideration to our entire family and making this an event for all of Ben’s cousins.

And to all of the folks at Make-A-Wish. I cannot express my gratitude enough and am honored by their generosity. Ben and Madie have been focusing on this trip for the last few months. The mere mention of San Diego grabs their attention and has helped us through some shaky times. I never appreciated the significance of giving a kid a wish before - I always thought it was about receiving something tangible from the wish. The real strength is from the anticipation, the escape and the memories. We’re living with the horror of cancer around us everyday. We’re exposed to a nightmare that no one should face. And then in comes a stranger offering a dream. A dream that offers hope and a chance to rest. A dream that Ben gets to share with us.

I’ve spent the last four months of my life moving from one short goal to another. Get home for the hospital. Get through his treatment and off of the steroids. Get to the holidays so that we can be together with our family. We’re approaching my next goal of getting to San Diego. I’m not sure what comes after that, but I know that I’m not alone. We’re all on this journey and these aren’t just my goals.

Thank you for being part of my son’s life.