"You're giving me anxiety," Roderick stated, as Leah continued to move about the hotel room, checking and rechecking her purse and the diaper bag.
"Well, maybe if you help me, you'll feel better," she retorted, making sure once again there was the right food and snacks in the tiny cooler.
"I am helping. I've got the kid," he replied, using his free hand to motion towards their son, who was happily sitting in his father's lap, watching a Daniel Tiger video on the iPad.
"Whatever," Leah rolled her eyes. "I think I got everything so we're good to go."
"Go?" The almost-two-year-old wasn't incredibly talkative, but he knew the important words. Like go, and mama, and eat.
"Yea baby, let's go to Disneyland, because mama isn't stressed out enough in life!"
"You are so dramatic," Roddy declared, as Caleb scrambled from his lap. He didn't even take his eyes off her as he helped the toddler down from the bed, just knowing what needed to be done.
"Am I though? Disneyland is crazy and packed and the general population is typically a mess."
"It's February. It won't be like it is in like, June."
"I'll give you that," she agreed, shifting her purse onto her shoulder. Roddy took the backpack diaper bag, slinging it over his one shoulder. Their son was already standing at the door, his favorite stuffed tiger in his arms, ready to leave.
The trip from the hotel to the amusement park, if it could even be called that anymore based on the sheer size of it, wasn't terrible. California traffic was typical, but manageable. Both Roderick and Leah were used to it, having both spent several years working indy shows, usually PWG, in the area.
That was the main reason they were in town currently. Leah was making her return to PWG after taking the last few years off while pregnant and raising their child. Their family was based in Florida as Roddy worked for WWE. She'd competed in the Mae Young Classic months earlier, but other than that, hadn't been on wrestling shows. She was nervous and excited about the weekend. Roddy being with her made it better, and she was excited for Caleb to experience his first PWG show. She anticipated having to get him some noise-cancelling headphones though.
By the time they'd parked and gotten up to the entrance gates, it had been over an hour since they left the hotel. Caleb was clearly getting impatient in line as he was able to tell something big was in front of him, full of colors and adventures and things he could get into.
She had a sudden understanding of backpack leashes.
Leah had wrangled him into her arms several times, but eventually Roddy had to scoop him up, and hold him tight as they made their way officially inside. He talked animatedly to their son as they walked along, telling the child all the things he'd see, as if he truly understood.
While not bringing his stroller had seemed like a good idea, as it was just easier to carry him, she missed being able to strap him in and be done with it. But Roddy seemed to be doing alright containing him as they got further inside.
It was going to be a long day though Leah decided, looking around at the various buildings, the castle, the rides, both close and in the distance.
"They say Disneyland is the happiest place on earth. Well apparently, no one has ever been standing next to you." Roderick's statement brought her attention back to the present. He was glancing over at her, as was Caleb. Both had blank looks on their faces, clearly unimpressed with their woman's lack of enthusiasm.
"Ha, ha," Leah stated, her tone matching their looks. "It's just…overwhelming. Even for adults. How is he gonna handle all this today?"
"Stop worrying so much," Roddy ordered. "Dang woman, just have fun."
"But what if…" Her motherhood-induced-anxiety wasn't so easily tamed.
"Stop," he cut her off. "Stop. We're going to the freakin' tea cups and you're gonna enjoy yourself." Leah had to laugh at his words.
"That's probably the most violently the tea cups have ever been talked about."
Roddy just smiled, taking her hand in his, leading her towards the aforementioned destination. It wasn't as crowded as she had feared. And she appreciated Roddy's plan of starting towards the back of the park and working forward.
As soon as Caleb saw the ride, his eyes grew wide. He fell silent as Roddy set him to the ground, and appeared mesmerized by the attraction.
"See? Kid likes 'em."
"Kid isn't even two. There's colors and movement. Disney knows how to attract kids. It's kind of their whole deal. Also, watching is not the same as riding."
"He's my kid. He's gonna love anything we go on today. The faster, the better."
"The slower, the better chance Mama's gonna let him."
"Yea, yea," Roddy waved her off, causing her to glare, to which he just grinned in response. "Loosen up, woman. Today is meant to be a fun family day for us. We never get to do these kind of things a lot. It's never too early to start making memories, even if they're just gonna be for us."
Leah wanted to continue being a worrying mama, but with what he said, she couldn't. He was right. This was meant to be a day of love and laughter, not a day that she would be able to 100% control. She just couldn't help but be a bit high strung; this was the most crowded and active place they'd ever taken Caleb. There were hundreds of 'what ifs' that had been running through her mind for weeks.
"I never got to do this stuff as a kid. I wanna make sure Caleb gets to experience all the coolest stuff in the world we can give him," Roddy stated.
And with that, Leah had no choice but to try to keep an upbeat attitude throughout the day. This was going to be fun, their faces were going to hurt from all the smiling. If Caleb had a meltdown at some point, they'd manage it. If Roddy or Leah had a meltdown at some point, well, they could also go over to the Adventure Park for a beer. They had bought hopper passes after all, just in case.
"C'mon, let's do the damn thing," Roddy declared, again taking her hand, having already lifted up Caleb, as they made their way through the line and into the attraction.
"Alright, alright," she conceded, following along behind her boys. "Just, don't spin us so fast we get sick."
"No promises."