Over the weekend we went to Six Flags Over Texas. My in-laws got us season passes for Christmas last year, which, as it turns out, has turned out to be one of the best presents we've ever received.
Six Flags provides hours of entertainment, not just from the obvious rides and attractions, but the people watching couldn't be better. On our last visit we witnessed a group of about six teenage girls wearing matching sequined tops, cut off denim shorts, and white fur eskimo boots. It was 84 degrees that day. A much older creepy-uncle type man was standing with his dangerously young girlfriend at the airbrush t-shirt stand having a shirt made that said "I'm with douchebag."
I kid you not. These occurrences happened so frequently that day I had to wonder if we missed some sort of theme day.
Well, this weekend my father-in-law and his wife Cheryl came along with us to Six Flags. It was a nice day for them to spend with the kids. Since our kids are so young there are only about 10 or so rides for them. Nolan can ride a few more than that, but they are a bit bigger. Leah is still too short for most everything outside of the kids area and she's pretty hesitant to get on most of them anyway. She usually clings to my hip tightly and pulls herself away. On this day we were walking through the kids area and waiting in line for Nolan to get on one of his favorites, which is basically a smaller version of the Superman ride. If you aren't familiar, it raises you up and them drops you (slowly) at different increments. Nolan loves it. He giggles the whole way up and down.
I guess Leah was feeling particularly adventurous that day and she started to get upset that she couldn't get on this ride. She wiggled away from me and I tried to explain that she wasn't big enough yet but that we could ride something else. I pointed at the next closest ride which was a small version of the swings that goes around and around. It looked like a fairly harmless ride with no height requirement. To my surprise, in what has to be her first act of rebellion, she said yes. She nodded her head smuggly and we walked over to the ride and immediately on. I strapped her in and waited outside the gate.
She laughed with confidence as if to say, "I am going to ride the heck out of the swing and show you."
The operator turned the knob and the ride started going. Her tiny legs kicked back and forth and she cocked her head back with an easy laugh when suddenly her face changed and a look of panic/regret washed over her. The ride was getting faster and her expression quickly melted into terror. She cried for a good 3/4 of the 30 seconds she was on the swing. We cheered for her anyway. And she also didn't leave my arms for the rest of the day.
Nolan went on everything he was big enough for that day. His favorites were the roller coasters. Over the past few weeks it's been amazing watching him grow more and more comfortable with new rides and experiences. He's always been my cautious child. He approaches new things with a sense of apprehension and wants to assess his surroundings before jumping in. I never have to worry about him climbing on furniture or running off from me and getting lost in the store because he's too scared to do it. He likes routine. I spent hours a week talking him into wearing a different pair of shoes or trying to get him to watch a different move that's not E.T.
I waited in line with him for the mini mine train, one of the roller coasters that he can ride. I was prepared to hold onto him and coax him into looking up from the track as I had done before. I ran the scenario through my mind as we stepped forward through the line. We got to sit in the front of the train, so there wasn't another person in front of us to block the view of what was coming ahead. As soon as we buckled in the first thing Nolan did was shoot his hands in the air over his head. People were still getting seated so it was probably a good 3-5 minutes before we were even ready to go. I looked over at him and he had the biggest smile on his face. I'm not sure where he learned to put his hands up, or even why people do that. But he was excited and didn't have a care in the world. He absolutely glowed with happiness. My heart was so full at that moment.
So what does a parent do? I raised both of my hands up as high as I could too. As we cornered each turn and rounded the twists and dives I could only hear one thing and that was the sound of his giggle over the rumble of the ride and the noise of the park. When the ride ended he looked over at me and beamed with a smile from ear to ear. I am sure my face matched his.
This wasn't just a ride for me. It was the turning point on a much larger journey of parenthood. It was watching my child break through his limitations and the proof that he is capable of so much more than what he and I thought possible.
