I have the Golden Ticket

The Golden Ticket.

I am sure you are at least familiar with the movie “Willie Wonka and the chocolate factory”. That was one of my favorite movies growing up. Although my sister was deathly scared of the Umpalupas, it was still a family favorite. I watched that movie probably a dozen times when I was a kid. I’m sure it had something to do with my sister having to run away at the site of Willy’s helpers…but regardless, I loved the movie. It is different, full of adventures, where craziness takes place in an unknown world. It’s intriguing. It’s different. It’s Bizare. Well I decided that it was time to introduce the movie to my older kids Jada and Asher. I always tell them the story line in our daily conversations to see if it would cause any concern to watch the movie, to test if they are old enough. If you think about it…it’s pretty funny, “Okay, so then there are these little green guys that comes out randomly that are small but large heads…and they suck a child in a small tube because he ate the chocolate. Then there is this mean girl that ate a blueberry gum and turned into a blueberry and had to roll her away…” But there was no rise from them…just bewilderment. If nothing else, I thought that maybe, just maybe that they would not ask for gum anymore.

So they weren’t scared so I popped in the movie. They loved it. They weren’t scared at all. I was pleasantly surprised. You always want the same childhood memories that are good to bring joy to your own kids. It’s something I could watch and enjoy as well. And as I watched this movie as an adult, something popped out that meant something to me.

Here they gave only 5 tickets to the world to see this factory. To visit a place that not many have seen. A place of mystery. A place that is untouched. A place that only 5 people will be able to experience. And as I sat on the couch with my two older kids and watching Logan playing on the ground…something hit me. I have one! I have a Golden Ticket! You see, not many people have and will be able to venture in this world of Down’s Syndrome like me and my family get too. We get to take a journey into uncharted land with a few other families that have been fortunate enough to get a golden ticket as well. We are able to experience, see, and enjoy what others would want if they knew how amazing this journey leads us on. Now there are also scary parts of this journey…the unknown, the embarrassing times, the looks, the indescripable feelings that come and go, the health issues. But if you asked Charlie…he would do it all over again if he could. He would take more people into the factory if allowed. I feel that way…I would take more people on this journey with me for sure. It’s different, it’s crazy, it’s never ending, and it’s my life. I realized that I have 2 wonka bars and a golden ticket. A Ticket that I wouldn’t trade for anything in the whole world…but I’d take you with me on this journey for sure.