I remember walking into Dodger stadium, and walking through the hall to my seat, only to be greeted by the amazingly HUGE, beautiful, green field. It was awesome. It still takes my breath away.
Or what about the first time you walked into Disneyland, onto Main Street, and you smell the sugar, see the colors and feel the excitement and anticipation of what waits down that street?
What about Chuck E. Cheese’s? Not quite as big, but still a wonderful place. A few years ago, our Chuck E. Cheese’s closed down. Only to give way to a much cheesier (pun intended) pizza fun zone called, “Big Z’s”. As we walked in, I found myself judging the place, comparing it to Chuck E.’s, and being very disappointed. Then my four boys come bouncing in behind me, smiles from ear to ear, and excited as all get-out as they ran in to check out the games. This was the greatest thing in the world to them at the time, and I didn’t want to take that away.
Even though those things aren’t as “magical” as they were when I first experienced them, I try to remind myself that they are just as magical for my own kids. And my excitement definitely adds to that experience. So just remember the next time you go into a place that disappoints, think about the little eyes seeing it for the first time, and enjoy the ride making that place seem even more magical than it was to you when you were a kid. 🙂