For instance…last year I took the kids swimming at the hotel pool up the road. I was prepared for them to stay for an hour or so and I’d enjoy a little time in a lounge chair relaxing with my book! My mistake was wearing my bathing suit…but I figured after an hour, I might be rather hot and sticky and a quick dip with the kids might be just the thing.
They had other ideas. Plus…they called me a chicken!
To this day I’m not sure what possessed me.
I went down the slide.
First of all…I didn’t know it was fully enclosed! For some reason I thought it would be open at the top instead of the tubular structure that it was. Secondly, I knew it had a twisty part…but I thought it would be rather small and never dreamt that six seconds through a slide with one small turn could seem like a lifetime. Finally…on top of all of that…I had no idea that water would squirt on the INSIDE of the slide…right in my face…the entire time.
I came out…skimming across to the shallow end like a stone skipping across the pond…in a full on panic attack!
I never saw my son laugh so hard in his entire life…until he realized I couldn’t catch my breath and thought I was having a heart attack!
I showed him!!!
Soon after that I learned to BBQ…facing my fear of propane! And I mowed the lawn for the first time…facing my fear of turning my shoes green! All the crazy things I’d never done before were done with the encouragement of my children who were tired of pasta and roast beef dinners…and desperately wanted grilled hamburgers and hot dogs (I don’t think they noticed the grass was out of control!)
I’ve not yet gone through a car wash (though I’m close) and I guess I’ll get around to pumping my own gas someday. Some things you just have to accept. My oldest has me accepting that she’s getting older…becoming independent. I’m not too thrilled about that either but what am I supposed to do? Sometimes you’re forced out of your comfort zone and thrown feet first into the unknown.
Today, I was thrilled that we decided against going to Summerville Beach and instead chose another one. I was well aware of the bridge that they’d try to make me jump from! Fear would have left me panicked…but there was no way I could have said no!
Some days my kids make me do things that I’m uncomfortable doing…that I don’t really want to do…but I do them anyway.
Just to show them I can.