"No one can possibly know what is about to happen: it is happening, each time, for the first time, for the only time." -James A. Baldwin
It's not easy for my little risk-averse kiddo. She really wants to try new things, but often hangs back at first, unsure of how things will go. And, admittedly, sometimes when she tries something for the first time, she hates it, is scared of it, or it makes her cry. And she can't know that, and I can't know that, so I can't protect her from it. Sometimes the sheer newness of the thing is what makes it scary, though, and once that wears off, it's her most favorite thing, the best idea ever.
We did two new things yesterday, which was not easy for her, although she did pretty well. The first thing was an indoor trampoline park, and I think she overcame most of her fears because it just looked like so much fun. It's the sheer uncertainty of trampolines that's difficult for her, it literally makes the ground unstable under your feet, and I could tell she didn't care for that. She mostly stuck with a bouncy house, which is a bit more stable.
She tried one new bouncy house, though, that was a maze, and I couldn't follow her in there. Uh oh. Total panic and crying and she was so scared. Luckily, the mom I was wish managed to squeeze herself in there and help Maeve get out. But oh, what an awful feeling in my stomach, watching the trapped and terrified look on her face from behind a mesh and knowing I couldn't really get in there.
The other new thing we did yesterday was the carousel at the mall. We've gone to that mall together since she was little tiny, but we had never tried the carousel. She picked out the zebra horse and I buckled her in, and just as I was explaining that the horse goes up and down, the carousel started. At first she was so overwhelmed that she just loved it, but eventually she didn't really like the up and down motion so much. However, when we got off, she was dying to try it again!
I'm proud, as usual, of my Maeve for trying new things, and for overcoming her fears. She really does amaze me.
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