Wasn't That Fun?!!

I have found that the act of planning “exciting” things for my kids to do can sometimes be way more fun then when my kids actually get to do them. As a parent, getting to experience my children’s “firsts” can be so exciting, but sometimes the reality has been disproportionate to my expectations.

The last time we went to SeaWorld was about three years ago. I thought my daughter would love seeing the dolphins and multi-colored fish, and possibly even enjoy watching Shamu do his renowned acrobatics. After listening to my daughter cry and whine for about two hours, I finally decided to just call it a day. The minute we stepped out of the park and into the parking lot she cried and screamed that she wanted to go back in. I felt like the whole outing had been a waste of time and money, and now I was stuck with a very unhappy kid. Definitely not a happy momma moment.

I enrolled my daughter into ballet when she was about three, thinking she would love to get all dressed up and frolic around with all the other little girls. Considering pretending she was a ballerina was already a favorite pastime, I figured the class would be a big hit. After the first class, she never really cared to go back. She hardly paid attention in the class as it was, and after the five weeks were over she didn’t even seem to notice that we had stopped going. Undeniably not how I expected that experience to transpire.

The first time we took my older daughter to Disneyland she was about three-and-a-half (her brother was about one-and-a-half). I was so excited for her first Disneyland experience, but when we got there, she lasted about an hour then wanted to go home. All day I got to hear, “Can we go home now?” Even getting to see the Disney Princesses wasn’t as exciting as it was for me (I started getting all emotion waiting in line thinking she was going to be so eager to see them). Afterward, I was worried I had ruined any chance of her “love” for Disneyland by taking her at too young an age and giving her unpleasant memories of the place. Thankfully our second Disneyland trip (about a year later) was a VERY enjoyable experience, dispelling all previous doubts of my daughter’s love for Disneyland.

My kids just recently got to experience their first train ride. I thought for sure they would love to sit in the fast moving train and watch the scenery fly by, but after about ten minutes they were ready to get off, and we still had just under an hour left until we reached our destination.

Most of my disappointing firsts have been with my older daughter. Since she is my first (THAT first has not been a disappointment), and since she’s also a very opinionated little person, it’s through her I have learned most of what I understand and expect from my children.

I have come to appreciate a child’s response to various situations and activities as uniquely their own, and that different kids take pleasure in new experiences at different stages in their life. I do believe that my daughter would enjoy SeaWorld if we were to go now, and I KNOW she enjoys Disneyland now. I believe she would enjoy doing ballet classes now, though I think she would enjoy doing gymnastics more (since I have opened my eyes more to the person she is and to the activities she likes most). I have always been one to tolerate others and their differences. Why I have had a hard time granting my children the same curtsey simply baffles me. But allowing my children to be who they are, instead of who I want them to be, has been the most humbling, and yet incredibly rewarding, lesson I have learned as a mother.