Thanks to Make-A-Wish North Texas, my family was able to spend a week together in Orlando this summer visiting theme parks and making new core memories. Flights, car rental, passes to the parks, a food stipend, and a stay at Give Kids the World Village made the impossible idea of a trip for nine turn into a reality.

Knowing this wasn’t going to become an annual tradition, we found a way to hit SEVEN theme parks in FIVE days and enlisted the help of our dear friend Sydney to manage it all. It was a blitz to say the least. There was something for each of the kids, ages 11 to 1, including thrill rides, 4D experiences, games, characters, animals, fireworks, drone shows, feasts, ice cream, candy, new Star Wars gear, Harry Potter wands, carousels, Benny’s star ceremony, and so much more.

Our kids will always remember the sights, sounds, thrills, and tastes they experienced throughout the week, most of which is a blur for the adults who carried them and did our best not to lose these tiny humans or our minds.

We finished our fourth night of park hoping by enjoying the fireworks and water show at EPCOT. Disney does everything with excellence, so you know the show was great, and as it came to an end, I experienced one of the most profound moments of my life. As the crowds began to disperse, we knew it would be stressful to navigate the sea of people with all seven kids, so we decided to stay put and wait for the park to clear out.

The upbeat music throughout EPCOT transitioned to a more mellow and reminiscent tone. Within 15 minutes, we were the only family left, and the final song began to play – an acoustic version of “One Little Spark” from Journey Into Imagination. Somehow my seven kids decided that this was the moment that they would all dance together, twirling in circles, holding hands, carrying one another, and smiling throughout it all.

I watched them dance and my eyes were filled with tears.

This.

This was everything I had wished for as my family held on to hope during Benny’s treatments from brain cancer the year before. This was one of the most basic moments of our trip, a family simply waiting for the crowds to leave so that we could walk in peace together. This was also the moment that God allowed to experience a profound joy and a reminder that wild adventures, theme parks, and rollercoasters are just markers on the journey with every normal interaction intermixed along the way.

Benny’s Wish came true – a chance to celebrate life with his siblings and to bring the family together for a week of theme park adventures.

Our wish came true also. A chance to stop thinking about the thrill ride of MRIs, spinal taps, proton radiation sessions, waiting rooms, medical bills, test results, and more, and focus instead on our family being a family and our kids just being kids.

The video of our kids dancing is one of my “Heaven on Earth” moments.

It turns out this same concept can/should exist in our company cultures. Winning awards, crushing sales goals, outperforming the budget… those are all fun and good but thriving company culture is built by being intentional during all the moments in between.

The magic is in the most basic moments - in your family, your work, and throughout your undivided life.

Encouragement for You:

Don’t spend time wishing for the past or overplanning the future, be a part of today’s magic by focusing on where you are right now.

Also, find a way to Wish It Forward. Make-A-Wish North Texas has now blessed my family and my brother’s family almost 10 years ago and I can attest to the healing power of a wish come true. Unfortunately, many wishes never come to fruition as Wish Kids pass away while Make-A-Wish chapters nationwide seek to raise funds and awareness. I never expected to have a Wish Kid and, as it turns out, that same thing rings true for every Wish Family I’ve ever met. Wish It Forward by donating today to the chapter of your choice.