Earlier this week, I had dinner with two of my closest friends at their house. They’d booked their dining options for an upcoming trip to Disneyland that same day, so we talked a lot about their trip and all the excitement. These friends know that Emily and I had plans to take the kids to Disneyland as well, so one of them mentioned that they were sorry I was no longer getting that experience.

My reply was simple: “I’m just not ready for that yet.” However, the thoughts behind that response are so deep because I know how much Emily loved theme parks.

It Started With Dollywood

2020 was a significant year in “the timeline of Megan & Emily.” We saw Lizzo together in concert at the end of 2019, and after that things really took off like a rocket. In the first three months of 2020 alone, we moved Emily out of one apartment and into another (I say “we” because I helped her move quite a few things out of the old apartment and stored them in my garage until the new lease started, then helped her unload it all at the new place), I officially filed for divorce, and the COVID-19 pandemic shut the entire world down. Yet, somehow, all of that just strengthened my relationship with Emily even more.

By the time summer came around, Emily and I hung out together at least once a week (usually more). My kids adored her, and she was really helping me rediscover how fun life can be. So, when I decided to plan for fall break with the kids that year, it only seemed natural for me to invite Emily along as an extra set of hands and someone for me to talk to.

We decided on Gatlinburg, and Emily did all the research so we could stay as safe as possible as COVID was still alive and well. We booked a room at Wilderness at the Smokies, day passes for Dollywood, and aquarium tickets. We were going to make the most of our 3 days.

The entire weekend was fun, but my favorite day was the day we spent in Dollywood. I watched Emily ride things with the kids, scream in excitement about roller coasters, and laugh over how wet I got on the rapids ride. I don’t think I’d ever had that much fun at a theme park, and it was all because of Emily.

I remember thinking to myself several times that I’d really messed up by not asking Emily on a date a few months prior (she started dating someone shortly before this trip) because being there with her and the kids just felt… right.

Then, to add to that feeling, Emily made this random comment that, looking back, was definitely her attempt at flirting/telling me she was into me. We saw someone who, from a distance, looked like our former therapist (the one who we were seeing when we first met). Emily grabbed me and hid behind me, then laughed when it wasn’t the therapist. Then she said, “Okay, but if we do see [therapist], wouldn’t it be funny to pretend we’re dating and freak her out?”

We joked about how we’d make it believable, kissing, holding hands, the whole nine yards. I won’t lie, I silently stood there for a moment as we waited in line for Blazing Fury, praying that we’d run into said therapist while knowing all too well I’d never be that lucky. Of course, six months after this event, Emily and I ended up kissing anyway.

Adult-Only Pools and Water Slides

By the time May, 2021 came around, Emily and I were no longer “just friends,” and were both “fully vaxed” against COVID. We decided to take advantage of a weekend the kids were with their dad and Emily’s Davidson County address to book a stay at the Opryland Hotel (on Emily’s bucket list) so we could check out the new water park, Soundwaves.

Although some may not call it a “theme park,” there were enough water slides to make it seem that way. We rode the slide made for two people, spent entirely too long trying to find more people to ride the four-person slide, and then after a second round on the double slide, I took a motion sickness break while Emily rode some of the single person slides. We later took advantage of the adult-only pool with a bar, the outdoor wave pool, and the outdoor adult-only pool.

Later in the day, we spent nearly an hour in the lazy river, facing each other in a two-person tube, talking about everything from Emily’s bucket list to what we first found attractive about the other person. That day is still one of my absolute favorite memories with Emily, and once again, it’s because I loved how happy and excited she seemed about everything that day.

We had so much fun that we ended up going back again in early 2022, the same weekend we moved Emily out of her apartment and officially in with me.

We Spent The Day at Beech Bend Park

Later in 2021, Emily ended up going to a theme park on her own when she visited a friend who was at a treatment facility in Denver. I was slightly jealous I didn’t get to go with her, but she picked a weekend to go when I had the kids. But, the next summer, we decided we’d plan a weekend when we could take the kids to some sort of amusement park, and it ended up being Beech Bend in Bowling Green, Kentucky.

If you’ve never been, this place is the best of all the worlds because it has a complete water park on one side, and an amusement park on the other, with places to change and lockers to store things in between. We decided to spend the first half of the day in the water park, then swapped over to the amusement park part later in the afternoon. Mer and Emily tackled the water slides and thrilling things, while Eleanor and I mostly stayed in the wave pool. The kids then swapped it up in the theme park part because Eleanor loves rides that spin and “make her belly tickle,” and Emily pretty much rides everything.

Of course, the running joke that day was more about the kids ruining the fact that they knew I already had an engagement ring. They kept saying stuff, then tried to play it off with, “Not that Mom plans to ask you or anything…” Either way, we had fun, and we decided we would make it an annual family trip.

I Can’t Imagine Theme Parks Without Her

As I said in the beginning, Emily and I had planned to take the kids to Disneyland. I originally bought tickets for 2020 in 2019. Then, COVID happened and everything got put on hold until 2022. We considered going during fall break that year, but between moving expenses that summer and Emily starting a new job, we decided to postpone until 2023. And now… now I can’t imagine going without her.

I know that eventually I’ll reach a point where life can be fun again. But for now, I just miss Emily and all of the incredible memories we made together because of theme parks.