I have a confession. I was one of those 28 year olds who swore I would never get sucked in to all that kid junk. You know the type–the non-parent who swears they will always be far too cool to play Raffi on loop in the car or stand with their head through the cut out hole of a wooden penguin at the zoo, acting all, yeah, haha, I really look like a penguin.
I’m pretty sure I assumed (pre-children) that parents brought their kids to places like Storybook Land because they felt they had to. They were doing their due diligence, punching the clock, setting aside a healthy appreciation of irony, and grinning and bearing it.
Then I had kids. I actually remember the first ‘kid thing’ that we did as a family. My boys were only 7 months old and we took them on a train ride with Santa. Like they cared about Santa. They could have gotten motion sick, for all I know. But guess what? Jeremy and I had a blast.
I understand now what my 28 year old self simply could not comprehend. When moms are dancing at a Fresh Beat Band concert and dads are racing their kids through a corn maze at the county fair, most of them are actually having fun. If you do these things right, if you actually connect with the wonder that your children are experiencing, you get a second chance at childhood. If you let them, your kids will teach you how to find the magic in life again.
This holiday season was a parade of kid-crazy activities. We saw Disney’s Pirates and Princesses, went to Sesame Place for A Very Furry Christmas, saw our local Christmas Tree Lighting, endlessly moved an elf around our house, visited the Popcorn Park Zoo, and watched the seals get their teeth brushed at the aquarium. I didn’t have to pretend to enjoy any of it because I felt like the luckiest mom in the world. Christmas with 4 year olds is a gift from heaven.
I was riding high on all of these amazing family experiences when I was offered free tickets to Monster Jam yesterday. That is definitely something 28 year old me NEVER pictured in her future. But, heck yeah, we are going to Monster Jam!
I got the earplugs and the bought the ridiculous noise-cancelling earphones for Wes. No matter, it was pretty much the loudest, smelliest experience of my life. Theo shuddered with every roar of the engines. Max curled down into his coat. We only made it to the intermission.
My husband made fun of me the whole walk back to the car. We came home and recovered by having a snowball fight in the backyard.
You know what? Later when I jokingly asked the boys what their favorite part of the day was, they both said the Monster Trucks. It wasn’t really my thing. It wasn’t really their thing. But we did it together and somehow it ended up seeming fun.
That’s kid stuff for you.
