From sitting....
....to Bouncing!
A Celebratory Sucker
Picking out her Elephant PumpkinThis past weekend, our family attended the much-anticipated Huntingburg Herbstfest. For those of you unfortunate enough to never have known the joy of this fall fest, I must say, IT IS AWESOME! Yes, it is small. Yes, we spent a small fortune on food, games, and rides. I don’t care. I will defend the Herbstfest with my last breath, even to my own husband, if need be. (If you’re reading this, Erik, you know you loved it! YOU DID!) My deeply rooted love of this fest goes back many, many years, and I could bore you with all the reasons I love it. But that is another story for another post.
Let’s talk about Ava! For her, the highlight of the fest was the children’s bouncy things. I’m sure there is a technical name for these air-filled, inflatable contraptions (moon walks?) that children jump around in—I just don’t know it. So I will be referring to them as bouncy things throughout this post. Now, there are two things you must know about my daughter to appreciate this story. (1) She may look just like her father, and be opinionated just like her father, and make people laugh just like her father, but—believe it or not—there is a part of her that IS LIKE HER MOTHER. (2) She will do things in her own time. Period. Just like me.
So she decides she wants to try out these bouncy things. Erik, myself, and my parents all make the trek over to witness her greatness at bouncing. There are a few children inside, but plenty of room for Ava. She pays her dollar (and how sweet is it to see a 2 year old pay her own way?), removes her shoes, and cautiously climbs inside. We are all waiting anxiously to see what she will do, as this is her first foray into bouncing. She stops, observes her surroundings, and proceeds to sit down. Um. Yeah. Okay.
So now she’s sitting in the bouncy thing. Watching the other children with a doubtful expression on her face. Erik begins shouting at her to GET UP AND JUMP ALREADY! That doubtful expression of hers becomes something remarkably close to a glare. My parents inch closer and gently urge her to do the same. She turns her back on them. I am merely swiveling my head, trying to discern whether or not anyone else is witnessing the unusual behavior of my child. It is at this moment that it suddenly dawns on me—I realize she is acting like me! This is something I would have done as a child! Of course!
It is a great moment for me, because I actually understand what my daughter is going through. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve felt this myself before. She is in a different environment. She is cautious. She doesn’t want to be watched while she tries something new. I totally get this! Immediately I explain this to my family, ushering everyone away to a safe distance, and give her some much-needed space. A few minutes pass. She starts swaying back and forth on her knees. She starts smiling at the other children. Finally—as we watch with bated breaths—she rises up on her feet.
AVA IS BOUNCING! I cannot explain the rush of maternal pride that I felt at this moment, but it was WONDERFUL! I felt a connection with my daughter that was completely exhilarating. I felt bouncy inside as I watched her become part of the fun-filled group inside that bouncy thing. She made friends! She laughed! She bounced.
Let’s talk about Ava! For her, the highlight of the fest was the children’s bouncy things. I’m sure there is a technical name for these air-filled, inflatable contraptions (moon walks?) that children jump around in—I just don’t know it. So I will be referring to them as bouncy things throughout this post. Now, there are two things you must know about my daughter to appreciate this story. (1) She may look just like her father, and be opinionated just like her father, and make people laugh just like her father, but—believe it or not—there is a part of her that IS LIKE HER MOTHER. (2) She will do things in her own time. Period. Just like me.
So she decides she wants to try out these bouncy things. Erik, myself, and my parents all make the trek over to witness her greatness at bouncing. There are a few children inside, but plenty of room for Ava. She pays her dollar (and how sweet is it to see a 2 year old pay her own way?), removes her shoes, and cautiously climbs inside. We are all waiting anxiously to see what she will do, as this is her first foray into bouncing. She stops, observes her surroundings, and proceeds to sit down. Um. Yeah. Okay.
So now she’s sitting in the bouncy thing. Watching the other children with a doubtful expression on her face. Erik begins shouting at her to GET UP AND JUMP ALREADY! That doubtful expression of hers becomes something remarkably close to a glare. My parents inch closer and gently urge her to do the same. She turns her back on them. I am merely swiveling my head, trying to discern whether or not anyone else is witnessing the unusual behavior of my child. It is at this moment that it suddenly dawns on me—I realize she is acting like me! This is something I would have done as a child! Of course!
It is a great moment for me, because I actually understand what my daughter is going through. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve felt this myself before. She is in a different environment. She is cautious. She doesn’t want to be watched while she tries something new. I totally get this! Immediately I explain this to my family, ushering everyone away to a safe distance, and give her some much-needed space. A few minutes pass. She starts swaying back and forth on her knees. She starts smiling at the other children. Finally—as we watch with bated breaths—she rises up on her feet.
AVA IS BOUNCING! I cannot explain the rush of maternal pride that I felt at this moment, but it was WONDERFUL! I felt a connection with my daughter that was completely exhilarating. I felt bouncy inside as I watched her become part of the fun-filled group inside that bouncy thing. She made friends! She laughed! She bounced.
2 comments:
Ah, the Herbsfest. Sorry I missed it! I just have one thing to say-
"It's my party and I'll cry if I want to, cry if I want to, cry if I want to...you would cry too if it happened to you!"
Oh yes, puttin' on the hits!
Ah, the posts I could write about Puttin' On the Hits! Good times, good times.
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