Kate's Yearly Trip

Kate usually goes on a cruise with the ARC every year. This year they are taking a Disney cruise, and it is kind of expensive, but, it looked pretty cool. They were supposed to be seeing Mayan ruins. However, Kate, her boyfriend, and 2 other friends have decided to stage a mutiny. They are doing their own trip. I was a little leary about the whole thing, thinking that the ARC will go on their cruise no matter what (almost), but anything can happen with this private thing. The reason they bailed is that someone they don't like is going. When you have a disability like this, you are kind of forced to get along with some people, and just because they are disabled doesn't mean the aren't capable of being mean and annoying. The real problem here is that this person's mother is coming, too, so that makes it more awful. This mother runs Kate's social group, so there are veiled threats, that if you aren't nice to her child, no matter how obnoxious she is being, you risk being asked to leave the group. That is why they have decided not to go.

But, moving on, that "anything" that could happen to the private trip happened pretty quickly. One of Kate's friend's mom, who was one of the organizers, was diagnosed with brain cancer. I told Kate to forget it, that this would send the family into a tailspin, and this trip would most likely not happen. Then we got word that one of the Moms had dropped out (not the one with brain cancer) I should explain right now that I was never going on this trip. These two families planning it, and if they wanted to invite Kate, that was fine.

So now, one mom has cancer, the other one doesn't want to go. But The daughter of one of the moms stepped up and would take them all to Disney World. We had a meeting at  a restaurant and it turns out that the daughter, I'm guessing her age at mid to late 30's, has been a Special Olympic volunteer for 20 years AND has been to Disney world 22 times. 22 TIMES!!! I went once and I'm good. But anyway, this trip is on, despite everything. So now the fun begins, I have to hustle ID, payments, phone calls, signed forms and whatever else. I expect it to be less onerous than an ARC trip, which requires paperwork you would not believe. I'm taking Kate to an ARC dance in a few minutes, she looks really pretty. Too bad it;s so freakin' cold out there.