a simple day

I'll admit, this summer has been fairly stressful. And my level of tolerance for my children in general has been pretty low. I've ended most days glad to see the door close behind their constant stream of needy noise. So it was a huge relief to have one shining day in the midst of it all when I remembered all the reasons why I wanted to be a parent in the first place and got to see my sons (especially Charles) in a new light.

A couple of weeks back, with MIL in town to watch the mischief-meister, Lou and I took the boys to a local amusement park. I'm a big fan of rides and coasters, and we've been counting the days until the kids are old enough for Disney and Cedar Point. (Yes, I know they could go now, but would we enjoy it? Almost certainly not. After all, these vacations are supposed to be for the WHOLE family.) But I realized, we had to take them somewhere. Imagine, we take them to Cedar Point, we're standing in front of the Blue Streak, and they're scared to get on because they've never been on a roller coaster! The horror. So we found a small park nearby, lots of rides geared toward kids the ages of ours, and a fair number that were good for parents and kids.

When we got out of the car, the first thing we saw was the ferris wheel, rising up in the sky. Charles pointed at it, and in an awed voice asked if we could go on it. So we did. Daddy was very nervous about the kids falling off, but they loved it! Next ride they went on by themselves—they really handled themselves very well, and stuck together like good brothers. Kiddie rides were a definite success. Next up, our very first family roller coaster. Greyson went with Daddy, Charles went with me. Charles and I were whooping it up, sliding back and forth in the seat, when I heard tears behind me. Greyson, unprepared for the motion, was not enjoying the ride. So I looked, panicked, down at Charles, expecting similar tears—to my delight, his grin was a mile wide.

From there, we did a flume, enjoyed by all, then a water ride 2x2 on rafts going down a big tube. Charles and I had a blast. Not sure how Daddy felt about that one! Meanwhile, we had seen a big boat ride that was a guaranteed super soaker. Charles fell in love with it on first sight, and spent the rest of the day asking to go on. Daddy had the camera, and neither of us was prepared to get soaking wet. But Mommy rallied and took the hit for the team. So while Charles and I prepared to to take the big plunge, Daddy and Greyson went off to do a ride of Greyson's choosing. Impressively, Greyson decided he wanted to ride the roller coaster again! This time, prepared for the experience, he enjoyed the ride much more.

Charles and I climbed into the big boat, buckling ourselves in. His grin was about to split his face open. Me, I figured we'd get to the bottom, he'd get soaked, the crying would commence. Up and around and down we went, swoosh! Splash! And I looked over at Charles, and nearly cried myself. He loved it! He was so happy—and the memory of that moment still makes me glow. It was so exciting to see Charles in his element the way he was that day, to be surprised by his willingness to try everything, his excitement, his enthusiasm. By mutual agreement, we did the ride again immediately. I was soaked to the skin, riding home half-undressed while my pants dried, but it was totally worth it.

It sounds like a simple day, but it was really important to me. It was one of the few days this summer that I ended exhilarated and in love with my children. I was so proud of Greyson for going back to the roller coaster and being willing to try it again, even though it scared him the first time. And I was delighted to see a whole new side of Charles and find a kindred ride-loving spirit in him.