So, on this trip, we are going to Kennywood Park, in Pittsburgh, PA. She loves rides, what I refer to as "Spin me, Flip me, Fly me!" and the only restrictions she has are no dark rides. She refuses to ride anything that goes in the dark--no matter how tame it is to you or me, she won't do it.
My Howler has been incessantly watching videos of the rides, driving everyone around her to distraction. She was keeping a notebook of who, what, where, and how for about a dozen rides.
Once there, her obsession became the Black Widow. It was closed for "maintenance" on and off throughout the day, which didn't lessen her insistance that she ride it. Watching this thing was terrifying.
By 5pm, it was open and running. And still terrifying. And she's riding it ALONE--she's immediately to the left of the girl all in pink. I walk with her to get in line. I watch with much trepidation as she patiently moves thru the line. Several other children and their chaperones are watching this thing too.
One girl asks me, "Why are you letting your daughter ride that, if it scares you?"
"Because I believe, especially for girls, it's important to face your fears and do new things, even if they seem scary to their moms."
She looks back at the Black Widow, then at me, then back at the Black Widow, and says, "I just can't ride that. No way!"
"Well, that's part of facing your fears: knowing that you just can't do some things, and sticking to it, regardless of what everyone else is doing."
I was terrified for the Howler--she's doing this, and doing it totally by herself....until she's on the thing. Once it started, the unadulterated joy on her face was enough to make me laugh out loud and garner odd looks from others around me.
It was sooooo very worth it...especially knowing that my own mother would never have allowed me on it at any age, because of her own fears.
