When my husband took a new position with a different employer late last summer there were numerous benefits. One of those changes was a new schedule. You see, over the last 15 years or so, we’d never been able to take holidays together. Even when we got married, we were only able to nab a long weekend away.
This year is different. We just celebrated our 10-year wedding anniversary earlier this month and two days later we did something we’ve never done before. We took a proper family vacation.
It was only three days, and relatively close by, but it was glorious.
Our first day we went to downtown Seattle and to Pike Place Market. My kids had wanted to see the gum wall and once we got there, they were absolutely revolted by the disgustingness of it all. If you don’t know about the gum wall, lucky you.
The gum wall is actually a very long corridor under the public market where people stick their already chewed gum to the brick wall. It’s stuck on literally everything: hanging off of pipes, overhangs, stuck to lamp posts, window frames, signs, and everything else, including the wall itself. While it looks kind of cool from afar, when you get close up, the utter grossness was enough to dissuade even the kids from spending any length of time there. While it wasn’t at all what they’d envisioned, it was definitely an experience they’ll remember for a long time.
The following day we went to iFly, an indoor skydiving centre in Tukwila, before heading further south. Being the planner I am, I’d pre-purchased two flight packages. I knew my daughter wanted to fly. I didn’t know if my son would want to give it a go. He’s much more reserved than his little sister and is generally happier when not pushing his own limits. I knew if he didn’t want to go, my husband would do it so either way it would get used.
Lo and behold, my son opted to try it. I was stunned. I couldn’t believe it. It was worth the money to see him get all geared up in his flight suit and take the short introductory course and follow his sister into the flight chamber’s waiting room. He was so brave.
I can’t even tell you the pride we had in watching them push their limits. My son only did one of his two flights. He learned quite quickly he hated it and wanted nothing to do with it again, which was fine by me. Even so, I was proud. My daughter did both of her flights. I was proud of her, too.
We got into the car afterward and I asked them how they felt about it. Much like the gum wall, both kids said it wasn’t what they’d expected.
Why?
It was really hard to breathe with all that air rushing in their faces. Fair point. I explained to them that I was sorry they didn’t enjoy the flying part but their dad and I were so proud of them regardless. We explained the fact that they pushed their limits, that they’d tried something new, that they’d offered themselves up for a new experience and learning more about what they enjoy and don’t enjoy was the victory. They now know it’s not something they’d likely want to do again, but they can say they know that because they’ve already tried. (They’ve got the certificates to prove it!)
The same type of situation presented itself when we were at Great Wolf Lodge, a family resort in southern Washington that houses a massive indoor water park. My son shied away from the big water slides all trip. There was one slide we could go on as a family and he said he’d only go if we all went together and even then, we had to go just before we left.
When we were ready to leave, I said to him: “OK, we’ll follow you. If you turn right, we go get our towels and head out. If you turn left, we follow you to the big family slide and all go together. Either way is fine with us. You get to choose.”
To my delight, he turned left. My boy didn’t let fear win. I wonder if he was thinking back to his skydiving experience and realizing he might not like it, but at least he can say he knew that because he’d tried it.
It was so fun. His face lit up as we zipped through the slide clinging to our giant family-sized inner tube. We’d all gone at various times without him but it was his first time so all of our eyes were on him.
We enjoyed so much watching him enjoy it.
After we finished on the slide, he asked if we could go again. Heck ya!
During our holiday we got to watch our children have all sorts of new experiences. From navigating the plethora of people to the gum wall at Pike Place Market, to learning to fly, to braving the water-slides and more, this was a trip that wasn’t at all elaborate like Disneyland or an all-inclusive somewhere, but one where they could live outside of their comfort zones and learn they’re more capable than they ever knew.
I can’t wait to start planning the next trip.