Our road to Disney began like this…
Last April at a company function with my husband and his employer, in typical Jamie “always running my mouth” style, I said “My husband will work for Disney one day.” ?I include this, not because it is really super relevant to the story, other than I truly believe words are powerful! ??Sometimes when you speak something it becomes true. ?So be careful what you speak! ??At this point in time, it was nothing but words! ?But in my heart, I believed it, and here we are!
If you know us personally, you may want to skip this part, otherwise, this is a good little tid bit to add to the story. ?Jeremy and I met in college at Texas Tech University. ?We both worked at a local architecture firm, Jeremy because he needed a job, me because I walked in one day with a friend, and I walked out with a part time job. ?They asked, I figured why not, and accepted. ?Seeing as how I met my husband while there, it obviously wasn’t too shabby of an idea. ?We graduated in May of 2002 and about 3 weeks later we moved to Colorado. ?No jobs, no friends, Jeremy just wanted to go! I had always intended to go back to Dallas where I grew up, but the opportunity presented itself and I accepted. ?
Fast forward 14 years and we are still here in Colorado. ?Jeremy likes things perfectly stable, in his control, and status quo if you will. ?I however am an adventurer! ?I am constantly on the go and at any given opportunity I will travel… anywhere! ?Sometimes with him, and sometimes without. ?The man does have to work sometimes! ?I am lucky enough to be able to do my job from anywhere, so it doesn’t often keep me from being on the go. ?We have a pretty blessed life here in Colorado; great jobs, awesome friends, an amazing community and support system, including my in-laws who live about 45 minutes away. ?(They followed us here about 1 year after we moved). ?So, why would we move you ask? ?Well, remember, I am an adventurer AND I spoke those words, “my husband is going to work for Disney one day.”
Back to this year and our road to Disney. ?This past summer, June 6th to be exact, ?I got a Disney careers email in my inbox. ?I had signed up for job opening emails about a year or more prior and was getting them pretty regularly. ?At one point, I though I must have filled it out incorrectly because some of the job postings I was getting were very irrelevant to what we would be looking for. ?I never went back and changed anything, I just let them keep coming. ?So, you can see how very serious I was about finding that perfect job. ?Then June 6th happened. ?In my email was a job posting for a “Senior Architect” position. ?I read the qualifications and it was a perfect fit for Jeremy. ?So, I submitted his resume and went on about my business; ?Jeremy all the while just rolling his eyes at me. ?I mean really, what wife does this? ?Me 🙂 ?You’re welcome dear!
About 6 weeks later, a Disney recruiter sends Jeremy an email and asks to set up a quick phone conversation with him. ?A very casual conversation later, he tells Jeremy that he will pass his resume on to the “committee”, ?he thinks they will be interested in him. ??My thoughts at this time: ?fun but still very unlikely.? ?Jeremy’s reaction, “I’m pretty sure he was still rolling his eyes at me!“
2 weeks go by and then Jeremy is emailed by a second recruiter asking to set up a video interview. ?Jeremy accepts and a few weeks after this the ?interview takes place while I am off gallivanting in California with my kids and good friends, visiting the beach and Disneyland of course. ?Jeremy, left behind to work and interview… Such is life (ours anyway) ?All goes well, that is that…well sort of.
THEN it gets real. ?Jeremy gets invited to interview with Disney! ?In Orlando! ?On site! ?IT HAPPENED! ?I think my heart may have skipped a few thousand beats when he got that email. ?Died, I just died. ?And then I waited. ?After giving a few dates that worked in his current job schedule, they agreed on a date. ?3 WEEKS LATER! ?People, I am a planner. ?There isn’t anything about me that waits well! ?I love a good spur of the moment trip, but I ALSO plan! ?And I DO NOT WAIT well. ?Well, I waited. ?And it felt like an eternity. ?And then the travel arrangements arrived and then he went. ?And so did I. ?Did I mention I like to travel? ?And I LOVE Disney? ?Because Jeremy travels so much for work, he has endless miles. ?(We love Southwest Airlines, they are the only way we fly) Well, they would be endless, except I travel. ?Which means I spend them as fast as he gets them. ?He might would say the same thing about his paycheck, but that’s another conversation! ?He also has companion status, which means, I can travel with him wherever he goes, for nothing more than the $11 security fee, and a babysitter. ?So, Jeremy flies to Orlando, I tag along. ?He interviews. I tour Disney’s Deluxe resorts. ?Everyone is happy. ?Now I’m laughing. ?I was happy, he was stressed. ?5 hours later, Jeremy completed his interview with Disney and it’s committee. ?So what do we do next you ask? ?We add to the stress! ?
Often times when Jeremy visits Orlando for work, and I tag along, we visit Downtown Disney. ?(Disney Springs now). ?He bans me from the parks, yes this happens, but we will go to Disney Springs just to get a little bit of the magic! ?So, just like normal we go to Disney Springs and grab a bite to eat. ?Raglan Road is one of our favorites. ?Beer on tap for Jeremy, gluten free, dairy free food worth eating for me. ?Jeremy needs a beer. ?Like seriously. ?I swear he was sweating stress. ?Or maybe the sweat was because I made him wear a suit, full on coat and tie, the whole bit, to an interview in Orlando, in the middle of summer. ?Either way, he was stressed. ?So beer it was. ?We go, we sit, we eat, he drinks, and then he realizes he miscalculated the time we needed to be at the airport. ?
We then take a crazy drive to the airport, run through said airport. ?Jeremy rushes ahead, he has that skip the security (well not really, but the wiz through security) pass, and I wait in the line. ?He goes, I am the last person on the plane! ?Literally. ?The last. ?The doors close behind me. ?My response “it’s only fun if you do it this way” ?His response, “I only have to run for a plane when I’m with you”. ?Fitting, yes really. ?27 hours later, we’ve interviewed in Orlando, at Disney, and are back home in Colorado. ?That, was even a lot for me. ??And now we wait, have I mentioned how well I DON’T wait!
Then it happens. ?We’ll leave out that part where I checked his email like a crazy lady. ?No one needs to know about that. ?They called. ?Disney called MY husband and offered him a job as a Senior Architect. ?In Orlando. ?At Disney. ?It ONLY took 12 days. ?But it felt like an eternity. ?A longer eternity than the eternity I experience above. ?So, here we are. ?We are moving to Orlando. ?Jeremy is going to work for Disney.
He will start around November 16th. ?The girls and I will follow at Christmas break. ?These last sentences bring about an entire slew of emotions. ?We spent last week breaking hearts. ?Remember those amazing friends, family, and community we have? ?My very best friend and boss? ?Ya, we’re breaking hearts. ?It’s complete torture. ?With a side of bliss. ?It’s a crazy roller coaster of emotions that starts and stops and spins more out of control than any Disney roller coaster I’ve ever been on. ?It’s a ?holy crap my husband is working for Disney,? with an abrupt slap of ?holy crap what have I done?? ?I DID THIS! ?Me! ?Just me! ?Well and Jeremy, sort of, with his amazing architect self. ?See he has to own part of it! ?We?re excited. ?What an amazing opportunity for our family. ?What an amazing opportunity for Jeremy. ?As this story comes to an end, it?s ?the beginning of a new chapter in our story, our crazy lives. ?The lives that Jeremy tries so hard to keep status quo while I throw wrenches at it. ??We hope that all of our friends will use and abuse our new home as local Disney lodging. ?In fact, if you don’t, I’ll send you hate mail. ?Not really, but I will beg, and beg, and beg, and even beg some more for you all to come see us!
So we say, “See ya real soon!”
With Love Always,
This Crazy Rumph Family
