Sometimes, we get glimpses of our parents that remind us they were kids once, too. There are some things in life that bring such an unbridled sense of joy that you can’t help but be reminded of childhood. That’s exactly what happened to one woman and her mom who were on a trip to Disney World together.
A TikToker named Savannah Sommer caught a sweet video of her mom and shared it on the app. Apparently, the pair had just had the honor of meeting none other than Mickey Mouse himself.
In the video, in which the women’s location was listed as Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park, Sommer filmed her mom making a very important call to her dad. Sommer’s mom was tearing up as she told her husband the good news. “I finally met Mickey,” she declared. Like any good husband, Sommer’s dad excitedly responded, “You did?” “Yeah,” she confirmed.
It was at that point that Sommer’s dad noticed his wife’s tear-filled tone of voice. “Are you crying?” he asked sweetly. “A little bit,” she said. “I know it’s stupid, but I’ve never met him before out of all the times I’ve gone here.”
Sommer’s dad was clearly good-natured because he went right along with his wife’s excitement. “Did you take pictures?” he asked. When she confirmed that she did, he replied, “Make sure you send them to me.” Sommer’s mom then went back to feeling self-conscious about her reaction. “I will,” she promised. “And it’s stupid. It’s stupid that I’m crying at 58 years old.”
Then Sommer stepped in herself to say what everyone watching the video was thinking. “It’s not stupid,” she assured her mom. “That’s the magic of Disney at every age. It affects somebody. It means something to someone.”
The text Sommer inserted in the video was perhaps the most heartwarming part of the whole post. “Smiling because moments like this remind me that it’s my mom’s first time living too, and I feel blessed to be a part of it,” she said.
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Dacher Keltner, a psychology professor at UC Berkeley, researches what awe is, and even consulted on the film “Inside Out.” He said, “Awe is an emotion that you feel when you encounter vast things that are mysterious. Wonder is what follows awe. It is a mental state, less so an emotion. It’s just a mental state where you’re curious and wanting to explore and discover.” A child’s curiosity could certainly be described this way.
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Stuart Brown, the founder of the National Institute for Play, had similar thoughts about how we spend our time. “From birth to death, [play is] a part of being human,” he said. “But when it’s not experienced, there are consequences. And the consequences are mild depression, or an outlook that’s not optimistic and not creative and not innovative.”
Sommer’s mom seems to have captured this spirit perfectly. Through the small act of meeting Mickey Mouse, she showed that awe, wonder, and play are still important to her.
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Other TikTokers left sweet comments on Sommer’s post that showed they understood exactly how her mom felt. “We’re ALL happy for you babe!” one person said. A second user said, “Some of us didn’t have a childhood in which we could just be innocent and free. Disney is a place we can feel that as adults.”
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Perhaps the most special comment came from the official Disney Parks account itself. “This is truly magical and we are crying too,” they said. The Sommer family’s experience really was magical, and is a reminder to us all of how important it is to pause and take in life so you can fully enjoy it.
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Mary-Faith Martinez is a writer with a bachelor’s degree in English and Journalism who covers news, psychology, lifestyle, and human interest topics.
