If it’s possible, Joseph’s time in the Disney College Program has passed both quickly and excruciatingly slowly for me.  I’m not sure how that works, but I’m pretty sure it’s a mom thing.  Time goes quickly when I’m not worried then comes to a screeching halt when I start imagining all the things that might be going wrong.  At least this emotional roller coaster is about to pull into the station and I couldn’t be more excited!

Disney College Program Update – One Month Left

I’m certain this is the longest stretch of time Raymond and I have been apart from our favorite (and only) son.  We last saw him on February 26^th and he’s due to come home on or about May 18^th.  While he’s been gone, I’ve made a point of texting Joseph every couple of days with pictures of our pets and updates on everyone from Junior and Ricky to Arno (Joe’s tortoise) and all seven chickens.  (Yes, there used to be nine, but we’re not here to talk about that now, are we.)  Joseph sometimes responds, sometimes not, but does often enough that I usually know he’s okay and don’t have to creepily stalk him by his debit card activity (hey, my being a joint account holder comes in handy for both of us).  All of that changed in late March/early April when two things happened virtually simultaneously that turned my low-simmer worry to fully boiling anxiety. 

Joseph’s responses to my text messages became much less frequent and he was incommunicado with Megan and Raymond as well.  I knew Spring Break season was getting geared up and tried (I did really) to remain calm and not hover.  Then, one of Joe’s weekly paychecks ended up being about $68 and I knew something was terribly wrong.  As it turns out, he caught one of the stomach bugs going around and got sent home from work, then missed the next day, then couldn’t find any shifts to pick up on his scheduled day off.  Okay…Not too bad.  I stopped panicking for a few days. Then Spring Break hit in full force and Joseph seemed to drop off the face of the earth.

Parental Angst Run Amok

College Program parents and hopefuls, heed my cautionary tale.  No matter what time of year one participates in the College Program at Walt Disney World, there will be an insanely crazy, über busy period of time to work through.  I feel bad in hind sight that I over-worried and imagined the worst possible catastrophic events.  Joseph described that roughly two-week period like this, “Everything is exactly the same every day.  I work 10-12 hours and either go to the gym or go to sleep and that’s what happens.  It’s been incredibly busy and my hours have been extended every day.  I don’t do anything except work, eat, and sleep.  I’m not upset or anything, I just have nothing to report…it feels like every single day lasts about an hour and I feel like I have no time.”  What a relief that was!  There are five million and sixty-seven worse things than working tons of hours…I should know, I imagined every one of them.

Through it all I’m happy to say, Joseph is still having a great time!  Now that Spring Break is over, he’s had time to attended some Cast Member events, go to the movies, take in some of the Flower & Garden Festival, and resume his food reviews.  I can’t wait to see him in person (finally!) and hear all the details.  I’m sure Joe will have loads of tips and tricks and general Disney College Program information to share with you too.  If you’ve made it here to the end of this post – wish me luck over the next 29 days…I’m going to need it!  Better yet, send emotional support!