There Is No Photo of the Most Miraculous Moment Ever

While there was a lot of magical fun that went on at Disney, there was that one thing that made me cry.

Micah's best friend for the past half decade (plus) has been Woody. We don't go anywhere without that cowboy doll. We've had professional pictures taken with him. He vacations with us. Woody gets play time every single day without fail. Well, except recently while Micah has been having an affair with Buzz. But sometimes Woody is invited to be part of the playtime anyway. Micah's world would probably implode if Woody ceased to exist.

So you'd think that Micah would have been absolutely thrilled to see Woody at Disney. And you'd think correctly. We first saw Woody at the tail end of a parade, driving by on a float. Micah danced a jig right there on the street corner, and then chased after the float until it got away from him. To say that he was ticked that Woody deserted him would be a gross understatement. Repeat this scenario a second time, and Micah was sooooo over his favorite cowboy.

The day we were at Holllywood Studios, Micah chose to take Woody with him. I asked if he wanted to see Woody as we were heading in to ride Toy Story Mania. His emphatic NO was accompanied by a scowl as he turned his back on the scene across the street where Woody was autographing books and posing for pictures with his fans. Micah was adamant that he didn't want to see Woody. So adamant, in fact, that when we stood in line to see Buzz and Woody, Micah tried to pretend that he wasn't there. He ignored everyone around him. He played with Woody in every corner he could find, his back turned to the world. He grumbled loudly when spoken to. He was not going to see that cowboy posing as Woody, and he meant it.

He meant it right up until it was his turn to meet Woody in person. Not only did Micah find it in himself to forgive Woody, but he was in awe that they were standing in the same room together. Just the two of them. And our family. And the photographer. And other staffers. But to Micah, it may as well have been just the two of them.

It's just too bad that Micah is terrified of costumed characters. He refuses to touch them. If they advance toward him, he'll retreat to the safety of Anywhere Else as quickly as he can. Bad things have happened when a character tries to be the one that helps Micah overcome his fears.

But then, as I was happily clicking away with the camera, trying to record Micah with his favorite Disney/Pixar character of all time, I witnessed a miracle happen. Woody held out his hand. Slowly, Carefully. And then just waited patiently. Micah looked at that hand. And looked at Woody. And then slowly and carefully he reached out his own hand.

DO YOU SEE THAT?! And then this happened:

God bless that Woody for his patience and gentleness. The look on Becky's face is all you need to realize what's going down right there. Truly wondrous things, that's what.

The look on his face. DO YOU SEE IT?! And I managed to stop that one moment in time with my camera. Sheer luck. What is very unlucky, however, is that nobody was prepared for what came next. The photo pass photographer was in another world somewhere, and I was gasping for air over the miraculous that I thought I'd just witnessed. While we were standing there with our camera by our sides, Micah hugged Woody. HE HUGGED HIM. MICAH HUGGED A COSTUMED CHARACTER. And we have no photo of the miracle brought to us by Disney.

That right there, that thing that is seared forever into my memory, was worth every penny we paid for that vacation. And Sam and I looked at each other and cried, because overcoming fears is such a huge step of big boy independence. Micah didn't just take a step, though. It was a giant leap.