Alexis is caught in the intersection between Baby and Kid. She's big enough to get her own glass of water, but not big enough to cross the street alone. She mature enough to discuss heavy topics like death, but not mature enough to understand peer pressure. She still sleeps with a huge pile of stuffed animals, but she gets herself dressed in the morning.
There is no time when it's more evident that she's stuck in the middle than when we're at Kennywood.
She's a breath away from being tall enough to ride on some of the bigger roller coasters and rides. It's a fact which frustrates her beyond words. She wants so badly to be "bigger enough," but it's just not time yet. Even more annoying, in her mind she's too big for most of the kiddy rides.
She pouted the entire time she was on the swings because "they're for babies." She is vehement when she says, "I'm not a baby." VEHEMENT. WILL RIP YOUR HEAD OFF IF YOU SAY SHE IS. RAWWWR.
So we find the middle ground and do what we can to make sure she has fun.
I'd say we succeed. Maybe a little.
But there is still the longing that she feels when she looks at the bigger rides. She softly asks if we can ride this or that next, and then sighs deeply when we tell her she's not quite tall enough yet. Every single time we break the news to her, it's a fresh dose of disappointment.
But she's tall enough for the Jackrabbit.
It's an old wooden roller coaster with a few big hills, but it's certainly tame in the realm of thrill rides. Riding it isn't much different than riding in the back seat of the car when we navigate some of the curvy country roads that surround Pittsburgh. Really, it's no big thing.
Except that in Alexis' head it is.
I don't know why, but she's terrified of the Jackrabbit.
The catch, however, is that it's really easy to talk her into riding it. We don't even have to bribe her, we just ask her to try it once. She always does. Each and every time we have asked her, she has gotten in that line and stood patiently waiting until it was our turn. It's not until we are settled in our seats that the story suddenly changes.
She is terrified of that ride.
Yeah, I'm that mom who takes pictures of her kid freaking out. What else am I going to do? It's not like I can stop the ride once it starts. It's all of about 30 seconds long, so it's best if the kid just deals. Terrified and all.
Alexis is stuck between Baby and Kid. She's old enough to be mad when we tell her she's not big enough to do some things. And, yet, she's young enough to be oblivious to the fact that maybe it's best that she's not big enough to do those things. "Not tall enough" certainly sounds better than "so scared of it she may faint."
Pssst....I'm giving away Kennywood tickets on the Review page.