Bittersweet Symphony
Growing up is bittersweet for everyone involved. For Alexis, there is a bit of emphasis on the bitter, at least in her head. She is far more likely to ponder the joys of being a baby again than she is to think of the freedoms that come with getting older. I've tried to explain that the whole baby thing was a one time shot and her time to eat, sleep, and poop all day are done, but she doesn't care about my reasoning. She wants to wear baby clothes and be wrapped tightly in a blanket and do all the things that babies do. Really, who doesn't?
Her biggest heartache attached to getting older is the realization that she just won't get carried around all the time anymore. It drives her CRAZY. She wants to be carried so, so, so badly. She tries begging, crying, asking nicely, manipulating, pleading . . . everything. Alas, she is just plain too heavy to get hauled around, at least by me.
As we made our way through the various Disney parks, the whole thing where the kid no longer gets to board a human chariot started to eat at her soul. With sadness in her eyes, she would plead, occasionally gaining a little sympathy from her dad. It got so bad that she actually started to ask for one of those wheeled things she saw other kids riding in. You know, a stroller.
People, the kid can tell you she's "frust-er-rated" and can accurately recite the Pledge of Allegiance, but she didn't know the word "stroller." That might say something about how long it has been since she last rode in one, mostly because she has always hated them with the fire of 15632140912384 suns. One day a few years ago I forgot the handcuffs and cement shoes at home and decided it was just plain time to give up on those fancy wheeled contraptions. We haven't looked back since.
Anyway, while trying to explain that getting bigger was a good thing, we discovered BAM! The kid is big enough for the BIG RIDES! BAM! BAM! BAM! We weren't entirely sure how she would feel about the likes of Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain and Tower of Terror, but I think it is now safe to say she liked them. A lot.
Before you make fun of how much of a dork I am in the photo, please note that I was trying VERY hard to sell the ride to Alexis. If ever I have wanted her to enjoy something, that was it. It was a make-or-break moment in our little Disney getaway. If she liked it, that meant we would get to ride the big rides the rest of the week. If not, I was going to start plotting violence while listening to an endless loop of "It's a Small World."
I needn't have worried. We rode Splash Mountain so many times that I lost count.
Bittersweet, indeed.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Reader Comments (11)
You look like your having fun girl! I didn't realize that you were in Disney...call me when you get a chance;)
A stroller was our saving grace in the parks. My back and mental health are thanking me for taking it. My sense of adventure is kicking myself though. We were on the Small World loop with nary a big kid ride in our sights. Next time for sure...
Maybe you could try explaining that babies can't watch things like High School Musical, and have to go to bed at 7:00? (or whatever would be considered "early".)
what's up with Rocky back there? If you had a different top on we could guess.
Oh, that looks SO fun! I love that ride... I hadn't even considered that I'd get to do that with my daughter someday!
Bittersweet... yup, that covers it.
Morgan's days of being carried have about come to end. She wants to be carried at night when it's time for bed. At 26 weeks pregnant, it's more and more difficult for me to do that. Her new way to get carried? "I just stand on this chair and you can pick me up. See? See, Mama....not hard for you." Noooo.....not at all.
LOVE the picture!
Ummm, Alexis is like the PERFECT Splash Mountain model! You can't get a better face than than in one of those pictures!!!
Now THAT is a perfect family portrait! For reasons unknown to me, and for which I will now knock-wood for, my kiddos have not resisted getting older and more independent too terribly hard. That, of course, being despite my best efforts to bottle them up at their current ages and keep them that way forever.
You SOLD IT with that face! ha
Abby likes her Daddy to carry her like a baby to bed. She started it after Zach was born. She has Dave pick her up cradle style. She doesn't do it all the time, but she will say, "Carry me like a baby." Dave of course graciously grants Abby her wish.
That is SO fun! Bittersweet this growing up business indeed.