After lunch we rested and then the kids did a 20 minute workout dvd with me (this point deserves a post all to itself...what a sight to see the kids engaged in this activity, with me huffing and puffing and them using cans for weights.) Then we needed more rest and baths.
In early evening, we visited a small carnival close by our neighborhood. It was just the sort of carnival I grew up with...very small town, about five large rides and lots of smells of corndogs, funnel cake and popcorn. Our kids are very wary of carnivals and rides in general and were squeamish at first at the thought of riding ANYTHING. But I talked them into a small inflatable obstacle course, knowing it would warm them up and wouldn't frighten them (at least not after they gave their tickets to the strange lady at the entrance). They took their time and seemed a bit more secure by the end of it. The inflatable served as a great primer and got them acclimated to the excitement that is the carnival.
Next I was able to get them to agree to riding a more legit ride called "The Frog Hopper." Basically, it was a row of seats you get strapped into and then slowly hoisted up and dropped down quickly so that your stomach ends up in your esophagus. I promised to ride it with them so they reluctantly boarded the ride, one on either side of me. We all held hands and screamed as the seats seemed to drop out from under us for a two second free fall. They loved it after the first couple of jolts and were begging to do it again by the end!
Unfortunately, the ferris wheel wasn't working which was a huge disappointment since it was the only grown up ride I could get the kids excited for. So we spent the remainder of our tickets on the frog hopper, the baby cars that drive in a circle and the inflatable mega slide. At the end, Simon piped up that he wanted to ride on the one that flipped upside down. Shocked, I questioned his statement. And he was serious. Even though we were out of tickets, I told Bryan I thought, if he was willing to take a risk, I wanted to jump on it! (Simon is characteristically shy and reserved and slow to draw attention to himself. His teacher last year described him as "careful and observant.") So, Daddy took the girls to get a snow cone while Simon and I got tickets for the upside down ride (four "cages" on two parallel pendulums that swing back and forth gathering momentum till you flip upside down and do a full 360° flip around.)
As we stood in line, we watched the people riding, screaming and some younger ones crying. I thought for sure he'd want to back out as I, myself, began to get a nervous stomach. I asked him, "Simon? Are you SURE you want to ride this ride?" He nodded excitedly, clenching his three tickets and smiling. He said, "I might scream but I won't be scared!" So we waited our turn. As the ride slowed to a halt and the passengers deboarded, the carnie worker approached us at the front of the line and said, "Its gonna be a while. I had a puker." I thought he meant he had to go throw up, but I figured out as he poured buckets of water in one of the cages it actually meant that one of the passengers we couldn't see had thrown up during the ride. Geeeee-Rooossss. After dousing the thing with water, he sent the ride spinning once on empty to rid the seats of ghastly watered down vomit. I began to get even more queasy at the thought of any of these droplets landing on me while we spun through the air and thanked God that I hadn't had any dinner yet. Simon's courage didn't waver. We boarded the ride and buckled in.
Soon we were waving slowly, backward and forward through the air, the large grin still plastered across Simon's face. He laughed nervously and kept his little hand under mine as we grasped the lap bar. It didn't take long to gather speed and as we looped up, it felt as though we were hanging in mid air. Our bodies came up out of our seats and rested on the lap bar and we both freaked out. His eyes were wide and his voice was panicky as he cried out, "MOM! MOM!" I didn't look forward but kept my face fixed on him and demanded he look into my eyes as I reassured him we were alright. (I didn't feel alright...it was seriously scary and I felt like I might throw up too while at the same time wanting to shriek out for my own mother!) The ride felt like an eternity. He never cried, but he seemed in a wide eyed, fixated trance and wouldn't take his eyes off the spinning landscape in order to gain security in my face. As the flipping ceased and we began the slow rocking to a full stop, he turned to finally face me and relaxed. The smile returned and he was proud of himself.
As we made the trek across the pavement to join the rest of our family on the other side of the observation fence, we felt bonded...like we'd won a battle together. I was proud of my little guy. Only four years old and willing to fight a giant! I'm wondering what chapter of courageous exploits this boy may have ahead.
Simon is my little hero today. Oh how I love that boy.
