Last week I did something I was afraid to do.
I went on a vacation to Disneyland with my children and my ex-husband.
It was a trip I had always envisioned we would take when I got married and started a family.
Despite the fact that our relationship didn’t end up the way I had always thought, we still are a family, our children are still our children. And Disneyland was still something I wanted to do.
Even so, I wasn’t exactly looking forward to it the way I would have had our relationship worked out.
But I did it. I survived and I’m glad I did it.
I wasn’t the only one who conquered a fear that week either. Both of my children were terrified to go on the big rides. They had agreed to do Splash, Space and Thunder Mountain at least once.
Once we got there and they saw what they had to do . . . they nearly backed out. My daughter especially is not a fan of roller coasters.
When we got into our log on Splash mountain she was already in tears and screaming she wanted to get off; my son was shaking like a leaf.
I remembered being scared like that my first time on the ride when I was her age and thought that she would feel differently after she did it. Maybe she would even like it, like I did.
When the first drop happened I could hear my daughter’s scream. When it was over she asked, “Is it over?!”
I said, “Nope, that wasn’t the final drop.”
I thought she was going to try and get out of the boat and join the characters that were singing to us. She did NOT want to do the final drop.
Part of me felt bad that they were this scared. But the other part of me knew how important facing fears is.
When we finally got to the big drop I was hugging my little boy tightly; his whole body was shaking. My daughter was in front of him and sitting behind her father so all I could do for her was tell her to be brave, hang on, scream and it will be over before she knew it.
The picture of their faces that day is priceless to me. They were terrified. But they did it. And even though they didn’t want to do it again, and I didn’t make them, they were incredibly proud of themselves, and I of them.
I kind of figured after that ride it was going to be a slim chance that they would ride Space Mountain with me.
That ride is my absolute favorite and I wanted them to do it so badly. But I was going to give them an out if they really wanted to take it.
Instead, the next day when they realized how important that ride was to me, they agreed to go. That made me incredibly happy . . . but my poor daughter was so scared when we got on that once again she was crying and screaming she didn’t want to do it.
She was sitting by her father who assured her constantly and off we went into the dark abyss.
I told her she was allowed to scream as much as she wanted.
My son was much cooler about it even though I know he was scared too.
I will never forget my daughter screaming, “I survived! I survived!” After it was over. The relief and joy she felt for doing it.
The picture again is a priceless memory. I can’t see my son in it because he is small and was ducking down . . . and my daughter had her eyes closed the whole time. But none of that mattered.
What mattered was that they did something that terrified them. Something they were adamant they did not want to do. A huge fear was conquered and the grins afterword were felt the rest of the day.
My son actually agreed to go on it one more time. But opted not to later because he wasn’t feeling all that well. The fact that he was willing was enough to make my day.
Thunder Mountain was next. And I thought would be the easiest. I was wrong!
My son was ready and wanted to go on it badly. My daughter agreed and was fine up until the point it was our turn to get on the train.
She was screaming and crying that she wanted to get off before we were even on. I noticed the woman’s face who was behind us and thought she must think I’m the worst mom ever for making my daughter do the ride.
But after we were done and my daughter yelled, “I DID IT!” That same woman pulled her aside and told her how proud she was of her, that her own daughter used to be the same way and was now 30 and loved all the scary rides.
My daughter’s face beamed. And I’m sure mine did too.
I don’t like torturing my children. Despite what you may think after reading this, but these three rides were important to me, to share with them.
Whether they ever do them again, is not my concern. That’s up to them. I am simply proud of them for facing their fears and keeping their promises to me.
As you probably know, this trip was not cheap, and we did a lot, but doing these three rides was a bare minimum for me to feel like we accomplished my dream and justified the cost.
I faced my own fear by going, by traveling with someone I wasn’t comfortable traveling with. And like my children discovered, it wasn’t nearly as bad as I had envisioned.
The trip was actually very fun and we all had a great time.
Fears can make us miss out on some pretty cool things in life. Our mind is typically not our friend.
I encourage you to remember this the next time you are afraid of something and it is stopping you from doing something you want to do.
Remember my daughter screaming, “I SURVIVED! I SURVIVED!” With a gigantic grin on her face.
If she can do it, so can you!
Your friend,
Kat
nurturingyourbody.com
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