Today was our family’s Day Out With Thomas at the Strasburg Rail Road in Lancaster County, PA. Since it was a trip where the tickets were bought ahead of time, I was really anxious about how I was going to feel today.  We had rented a wheelchair but there is still the possibility of pain, and even fatigue, even though I am being pushed around for most of the day.  I had thought about it for days in advance, praying that the day would go down in all of our memories as a good time had by all and not a day where my illness ruined it for me.  I wanted to enjoy the day too, you know?  Even though my main concern is always Tyler, I am a kid at heart and I really like this kind of stuff!

It was so good to get out of Suburbia, NJ and into the rural farmlands of Lancaster County!  Tyler had never even seen cows or horses so when he wasn’t sleeping he enjoyed the two hour trip. Just being in that part of the country where antiques, farms and Amish abound makes me wistful that I lived there; I just love that stuff!

Tyler had his first train ride on America’s oldest short-line railroad.  Probably the only downside of the day was that the train’s whistle was so loud we had to keep our hands on Tyler’s ears for most of the trip.  The whistle was really loud!

Seeing Thomas pull into the station I think was the highlight for all of us!  Tyler could not believe that the REAL Thomas was here and we were going to ride in him!  After the train ride, Tyler got to take pictures in front with Thomas and his “rolling eyes”.  We also saw Thomas done completely in Legos and a preview of Legos and Duplos of Thomas and Friends that is supposed to be coming out in August.  The gift shop and buying photos (how can you not?) took up the rest of our time.

Tyler, at just two-and-a-half, still doesn’t have a lot of endurance at a place like this, so he and I were pretty much ready to go home at the same time!  I took my regular pain meds and I was really tired and had some nausea and dizziness but the fact that I am even up and blogging about this is a huge victory for me!  The worst part of it was getting up in the morning, as it usually is.

I am so thankful to God that I could enjoy the day and see the huge smiles and grins on Tyler’s face.  Wheelchair or not, sick or not, I was just a Mom like everyone else there, taking their children to see Thomas The Tank Engine.  I know I will look back on this day with wonderful memories and the unpleasantness I felt will fade since it was greatly outweighed by the fun we all had.