It was at Yankee Stadium on July 4, 1939 when Yankee great and legend Lou Gehrig made his famous speech uttering the words “Today, I consider myself, the luckiest man on the face of the earth.” Since being invited by Traci to contribute articles to the Disney Driven Life in January of 2010, I too have considered myself “the luckiest man on the face of the earth” and being voted winner of the Disney Driven Life Academy Award Blogger of the Year for 2010 is an honor I will forever cherish. So it is with a heavy heart that I inform each of you that for now this will be my final contribution to the Disney Driven Life.
I will be forever grateful to JL and Traci not only for asking me to contribute to this wonderful website, but for giving me the freedom to write about any Disney topic and subject of my choosing. The autonomy and faith shown allowed me to express myself in ways I never thought possible.
I would like to thank Todd and Jackie for all their support and tweets letting all of you know when I had a new blog contribution posted to the Disney Driven Life. I would also like to thank Shelley NDM #121 for her wonderful and insightful comments to my blog contributions and everyone else for sharing your tweets and comments.
Finally, I thank all of you for taking the time to read my contributions each week.
As I look back at all my contributions to the Disney Driven Life I decided to share with you the seven I am most proud of:
- In Search Of The Great Disney Dessert (01-11-10)
- A Podcast’s Unsung Hero (02-22-10)
- Secret Agent Dad (04-01-10)
- What Would Len Pack (05-06-10)
- Discovering Your Inner Mouse (09-02-10)
- Remembering Why (09-09-10)
- Building A Dream (12-11-10)
In each of my contributions I tried to give you something to think about and judging from the comments I’ve received over the year I feel like I’ve succeeded which makes my decision to stop contributing to the Disney Driven Life for now that much more difficult.
There was a time I thought I would be contributing to the Disney Driven Life forever and that was still true up until a few days ago when as difficult as it was I finally came to the realization that this was a decision that had to be made. In addition to starting a new job in September that is continually more demanding of my time there are other things I wish to accomplish that also demand more attention. So, in order to have the chance to succeed at these things I have to free up some of my time.
I extend my heartfelt appreciation to all the neurotic Disney people who have been and will continue to be a true inspiration. Having the opportunity to write for the Disney Driven Life was a dream come true. The memories and experience will always have a special place in my heart
In saying so long to the Disney Driven Life I leave behind three very important people to me. When I think of JL, Traci, and Jackie I don’t just think of them as friends. I think of them as family. They are the sisters I never had. Well, today their brother is going off to start a new adventure and while I say so long, this is not goodbye!
Contributed by: Stuart S. (NDD #47). Stuart is our resident Disney geek and creator of Disney Geek Dad.
Stuart is the DDL resident Geek Dad and claims New York as his birthplace. Currently, though, he resides in New Jersey and is a husband and father of two as well as a huge Disney World, Springsteen, Yankee, and NY Ranger fan. He wakes up and goes to sleep thinking about Disney World. He listens to Disney podcasts to and from work and at night before sleep. He drives his family nuts talking about Disney and is always planning their next Disney World trip. In addition, he is known to always volunteer to help extended family and friends plan their next trip. Stuart’s personal blog is disneygeekdad.blogspot.com. He can also be found on twitter by following @disneygeekdad.
I can’t begin to tell you how very much I’ve appreciated all that you have contributed here. I look forward to each and every post you make, and I have enjoyed getting to know you and your love of Disney.
Best wishes as you embark on the path that will hopefully lead you to the fulfillment of all of your dreams and wishes. You’ve made this a magical place, and you will be sorely missed!
OMGosh, Stuart, I first am truly sad to see you go and I never realized that by my commenting even had any impact. It so breaks my heart to see you decided to stop writing; I can tell that you have a natural gift for it! Especially for a guy, they usually do not say much ( well my hubby does not say much).
With that said please know that we all come to crossroads in life and as much as those things we enjoy we need to set it aside to allow more growth & change to come and just know that we all appreciate all that you have contributed and know that each day of experiance will be a new door of opportunity!
(HUGS),
Shelley
Stuart – I cried when I read this post the first time. And I cried again just now. We are going to miss you and your wonderful blogging here at the DDL. I am so happy that you were part of the magic during the last year…and I’m honored to call you my friend. See you on Twitter! Best of luck in your ‘adventures’!
Oh that is so sad… I have read some of your work and I have felt how much you love writing. One of the hardest things to do is to sacrifice something that you love doing. Anyway, I hope you all the best and I hope to see your work again.
I am so sad to read this. I have truly enjoyed reading your articles. Your writing is amazing and very inspiring to someone like me writing a blog just to share stories about my kids and their “Disney lives.” I wish you all the best and thank you again for sharing your thought and ideas!
Ok, sorry, that should say “thoughts” since you have defintely given more than one “thought.” Sorry for the typo!