“Come on, Mom!”
These three words echoed in my head as my 8-year-old son beckoned me to join him on the amusement park water slide. As I shook my head no, and before I could respond, he continued with “the water really isn’t that cold.” Then he lifted his left arm and waved me towards him, turning to head back up the stairs with his sweet smile while declaring, “It’s so fun!”
My daughter recently turned six, and instead of the regular backyard birthday bash, we opted to make a family memory instead. Santa’s Village is an adorable family-friendly amusement park nestled in the beautiful White Mountains just outside of North Conway, New Hampshire. We had never been before and with a multitude of high-stress events going on in our lives, we thought it would be a great way to not only celebrate our daughter, but also provide the tiny bit of respite we so desperately needed. Usually, when we plan trips like this, I begin to get anxious a few days before. I start to think about all of the things that could end up making the day absolutely miserable and all of the things I need to pack in order to stay one step ahead. This time, however, we had so much going on that I did not even stop to think about planning for this day until the night before. With very little time to research and a website that only provided a few FAQ’s and how to purchase tickets, I decided to head to bed with a hopeful heart instead of warping into “Anxious Annie.”
The next morning, everyone was up bright and early! The kids hopped out of bed with excitement, my husband grabbed the cooler, I whipped up a picnic lunch, topped off the water bottles, threw swimsuits and towels in a bag, and headed out the door. Since fall has arrived a bit early out here in New England, the drive into the mountains was welcoming. Hues of red, yellow, and orange poked out through the trees, and there was a chill in the air. The weather was supposed to be nice, but we expected cool temperatures and the possibility that the last day for the waterpark may have come earlier than expected. We arrived at our destinations two and a half hours later, ready to take on the rides, rollercoasters, and whatever else this place had in store. As much as we looked forward to this, there are three things I have yet to mention.
- My son has a fear of heights, speed, and water that he cannot fully stand in.
- The last time I was on a Kiddie coaster, I experienced my first episode of Vertigo.
- I hate, and I mean HATE, cold water! I would rather sweat buckets on the beach in 90-degree heat than jump into water any cooler than 78 degrees (the warmer the better!).
Without knowing how any of the above would play into our day, we left our lunch in the car, grabbed our sweatshirts, and headed through the entrance seeking all the Christmas joy in September we could find. My thrill seeker of a daughter locked eyes with the first roller coaster she saw and bolted towards it with all the giddiness and laughter you would expect from a six-year-old. Luckily, it was one of the smaller rides and the perfect place for my husband and her to start. As we approached the line, I expected my son to back away and refuse to ride. To my surprise, he walked right up next to his Dad and said, “I like penguins.” Confused, I looked up and saw that the ride had penguins all over it and realized, for some reason, that those cute little animated wood cut-outs brought him comfort. Again, I looked at my husband, we both shrugged and hoped for the best. I took a step back and prepared my phone to snap the first pictures of the day. Just as the line began to move, I heard my daughter’s little voice say, “Come on, Mom!” While my son may have forgotten what it feels like to lose his stomach, I still had yet to figure out when I should rip off the vertigo band-aid. I mean, it was the first ride of the day! If I had an episode, I would be miserable for at least the next two hours. Then again, if I prolonged the waiting process, I would miss opportunity after opportunity that could otherwise have been enjoyed. Better yet, there was still a chance that I would not have an episode at all. I had just a few seconds to lean into my hopeful heart and go for it. I slowly squeezed into the bench next to my daughter, cautiously put on my seatbelt and said a quick prayer. I watched the attendant push the button, I heard the tracks click and the car went into gear. We were off…
As the ride rounded the last corner, I took a deep breath, gave my daughter a high-five, got out of the car and smiled. No vertigo! Although this ride was short and small ,I was optimistic that we were off to a great start. My son, on the other hand, realized that, although penguins are cute, they do not make the ride itself any less scary. He enjoyed the simple twists and turns, but he approached every ride after that with a bit more caution. Some took a bit more coaxing than others, but he ended up getting on every ride – even the biggest and longest ride in the park. After one time around, we rolled into the loading zone and he wanted to get off. In a matter of seconds, we encouraged him to muster up the courage to go one more round. As the ride came to its final halt, we unloaded, and I noticed one half of his face wanted to cry while the other half was trying to smile. He ran down the exit ramp, got to the bottom and shouted, “Come on! Let’s go again!” So, we did.
After getting our fill of the rides, we headed to the car to change into our swimsuits and have lunch. I couldn’t believe my kids had made it 4 hours without eating a single thing! Four snack attack and “I’m starving” whine-free hours! It was a miracle! We all took turns changing in the back of the car while we reminisced about our favorite rides and how much fun we were having. When it was my turn to change, both of my kids said, “Mom, you’re putting your swimsuit on?” They know me well and expected me to guard the bags while their teeth chattered and they shivered their way through the splash pads and slides. The outside temperature was about 78 degrees, but this made the water clock somewhere between 65-68 degrees. “Of course,” I said, “You know I always wear my swimsuit even if I don’t get in.”
We scoped out our chairs, the kids headed into the first splash pad, and my husband checked out the three water slides. Before I knew it, all three were headed up the stairs and into the lines to be swept down chilled tubes of plastic and into a tub of freezing cold water. I saw my son quickly glance at the depth of the tubs at the bottom of the slides and then head up the stairs without hesitation. The magical Christmas-themed rides had made him fearless. After swapping chairs and once again getting into my picture-taking stance, I planted myself in the perfect spot at the bottom of the slides. After his third trip down, my son stood up, hopped out of the tub and that’s when I heard, “Come on, Mom.”
As I watched him head back to the stairs, the entire day flashed through my mind. All day we had encouraged each other. All day we had wanted everyone to do everything together. All day we had repeated, “Come on” to whoever needed a little boost of encouragement. And the person who heard those words the most was him. My son. The one who had conquered all three of his fears and had done it all in one day, multiple times over. I knew right then and there that this would be the perfect ending to the most perfect day. I could not NOT do this! Before giving myself any time to sabotage the entire day, I threw off my clothes, crossed my arms, attempting to retain whatever body heat I had, and sprinted up the stairs. Once I reached the top, I quietly snuck up on my daughter and quickly looked for my son. My daughter’s reaction had already made the climb worth it, but my son was nowhere in sight. My daughter and I waited together. Her teeth chattering and my mind racing. When the attendant waved us in, she climbed into her slide and I climbed into mine. I shot myself down that slide like a pack of movers coming in for a PCS! I held my breath, wondering exactly how long I would have before plunging into the freezing doom ahead. As I rounded the last corner, I clinched my body as hard as I could. I skated into the bottom, finally exhaled, and quickly glanced up. There, at the bottom of the slide, was my son with the biggest smile on his face and his hand ready for a high-five. “Come on, Mom! Let’s do it again. I told you it wasn’t that cold!”
Actually, Bug, it was perfect. The whole day was perfect. Even in the midst of chaos, perfect days are possible. Sometimes you have to put in the extra effort. Sometimes you have to just let go. And sometimes, they are made perfectly perfect with a little voice inviting you to “Come on, Mom!”
