Something Uncomfortable: Day 23

http://www.facebook.com/SomethingUncomfortableSteppingFromFearToFreedom

What do you do when the forecast calls for rain in the middle of spring break? If you are boring-hermit-mom, you stay at home and get chores done. BUT if you are super-cool-adventurous-mom, you arrange to have a playdate at the children’s museum that is about an hour away from home. Guess which mom I chose to be this week. That’s right… super-cool-adventurous-mom!

Why is this such a big deal? Because my children are 3 & 5 years old and the biggest adventure we have gone on without Dad or an aunt to help has been to go to the chiropractor that is 20 minutes from home. Seriously.

My son was SUPER sick the entire first year of his life. He threw up all day, every day. Allowing him to cry just made the situation worse… so we never allowed him to cry. Traveling in the car was nothing short of torturous, so we tried to avoid it at all costs. And ever since, I have lived under the assumption that traveling is just too hard to try.

I am SOOOOOO glad we went today. The kids had a blast. The car rides there and back went so well that I’m thinking there will be a lot more adventures in our near future.

The highlight of the day – and the thing that brought on the most anxiety – was the “tree” in the middle of the museum that my kids climbed ad nauseam (both figuratively and literally). This thing went from the first floor up to the ceiling of the second floor. I became woozy just looking at it…

As my children conquered their own fears by mastering the beast, I had to continually remind myself that someone would have torn it down if people had died on it or had gotten seriously hurt on it. How cool is it that by allowing myself to be uncomfortable, I allowed my children to learn to overcome what frightens them? And that, my friends, is what this whole thing is about. I want my children to learn to be people that rise above life’s challenges and not to be people who succumb to their fears.

So with that I say, “Go Team Schneider!” Because today was an awesome day.