first Social Media Moms Conference<\/a> in which there were just 16 of us who represented a small slice of the blogosphere\u2014both Mommy and non-mommy\u2014I still watch those women in awe at where their careers and lives have gone from there.<\/p>\nAnd the extremely complex, deep psychological reason why we keep going back? Because it\u2019s fun.<\/p>\n
This year I was just as thrilled to get an invitation the Disney SM Moms Conference next month. It will be held in at DisneyLand in California\u2014a place I once visited over 30 years ago on a family vacation. I can provide no frame of reference, no helpful tips, no sarcastic lead-ins because it will be completely new to me.<\/p>\n
And that\u2019s okay.<\/p>\n
In fact, it\u2019s pretty awesome.<\/p>\n
As parents, we are natural planners. Particularly when it comes to travel, we need things mapped out exactly so that we can pack and make appropriate arrangements for all the little and big people we are responsible for. We want to know what to bring, when we eat, what to wear, what we\u2019re doing and who is going to be there. There are reservations to make, suitcases to be filled, magic to create. I get it.<\/p>\n
But if anyone is searching for counsel on how to approach this trip, my advice is simple: with utter abandon. Suspend your natural tendencies to plan every aspect, and allow the many talented people who put this entire amazing, one-of-a-kind experience to handle the details. They are gifted in the art of surprises, and it\u2019s a time like no other. If you\u2019re bringing your kids, show them the beauty of spontaneity. Be bewildered together. I guarantee you will learn more, laugh more, and engage more with amazing women doing amazing things.<\/p>\n
No matter if it\u2019s your first time or your address is on the parade route, engage in the joy. The only thing you really need to bring is an open mind.<\/p>\n
\u00a92014 Tracey Henry<\/p>\n
<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I\u2019ve been to Disney so many times, I park in SubDiva 53. I\u2019ve been to Disney so many times, A Small World is sick of my theme song. I\u2019ve been to Disney so many times, my Fast Passes used to read, \u201cYou again?\u201d I\u2019ve been to Disney so many times NASA has mistaken me for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":[]},"categories":[2],"tags":[31,71],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3NIOM-6T","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":514,"url":"http:\/\/www.suburbandiva.com\/2014\/04\/08\/a-magical-giveaway-from-kohls\/","url_meta":{"origin":427,"position":0},"title":"A Magical Giveaway from Kohl’s–UPDATED WITH WINNER!","date":"April 8, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"In celebration of this fabulous upcoming trip, Disney and Kohl\u2019s would like share with us some proper party attire for the kids\u2014the new \u201cMagic at Play\u201d collection by Jumping Beans. Cute, fun and definitely Disney festive\u2014these outfits are perfect for inside the park or out. But it wouldn\u2019t be a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Review"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.suburbandiva.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/IMG_2737-225x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":574,"url":"http:\/\/www.suburbandiva.com\/2014\/06\/26\/reading-disney-rainbows-this-summer\/","url_meta":{"origin":427,"position":1},"title":"Reading Disney Rainbows this Summer","date":"June 26, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"One of the many wonderful things about the Disney Social Moms Media Celebration\u2014and there are many\u2014is the amazing speaker lineup. The awesomeness of these impressive people from all different fields, specialities and successes are extraordinary in their own right, but then when one of them speaks directly to something near\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Review"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.suburbandiva.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/DSCN0114-225x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":883,"url":"http:\/\/www.suburbandiva.com\/2019\/07\/14\/halfway-there-and-indeed-living-on-a-prayer\/","url_meta":{"origin":427,"position":2},"title":"Halfway there and indeed, living on a prayer","date":"July 14, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Un-stranding yourself from an island is more difficult than you might think. After 5 days on the beach, a Quincearna baseball game and a private fireworks show from one of the world's richest men that we just happened upon with no invitation; we attempt departure from the sheer randomness of\u2026","rel":"","context":"With 1 comment","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":543,"url":"http:\/\/www.suburbandiva.com\/2014\/04\/26\/the-9-nonsensical-lessons-i-learned-at-disneysmmoms-and-1-important-one\/","url_meta":{"origin":427,"position":3},"title":"The 9 nonsensical lessons I learned at DisneySMMoms and 1 important one","date":"April 26, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Last week I was lucky enough to have been invited to the Disney Social Media Moms Celebration. I attended with a friend and my two daughters, and it is truly an experience I will never forget. I had a wonderful time, met amazing people and learned a lot. To summarize\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Column"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.suburbandiva.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/IMG_2763-300x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":527,"url":"http:\/\/www.suburbandiva.com\/2014\/04\/09\/your-conference-packing-list\/","url_meta":{"origin":427,"position":4},"title":"Your Conference Packing List","date":"April 9, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"I\u2019m about to embark upon a really wonderful trip. Disney has once again pulled their magic strings and I find myself invited to the Disney Social Media Moms Celebration. This year, it is in Anaheim at Disneyland, so I am completely out of my element. Pair this with the fact\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Column"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":876,"url":"http:\/\/www.suburbandiva.com\/2019\/07\/03\/on-the-road-again\/","url_meta":{"origin":427,"position":5},"title":"On the Road Again","date":"July 3, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Greetings, Fellow Adventurers! If you recall from our last episode, the caravan of 15--because obviously that is the best number in a traveling party--made its way around the Northeast, at times even crossing international borders. A fabulous time was had by all. This summer, the menfolk feedback from Louise and\u2026","rel":"","context":"With 3 comments","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.suburbandiva.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/427"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.suburbandiva.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.suburbandiva.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.suburbandiva.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.suburbandiva.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=427"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.suburbandiva.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/427\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.suburbandiva.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=427"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.suburbandiva.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=427"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.suburbandiva.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=427"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}