Grandpa learned a lesson the other night at the boardwalk with 1/10th of the clan of grandkids. Little Darlin' just turned three, and she was sooo excited to visit the boardwalk with "Grandpa Oso."
Grandpa Oso was pretty excited himself. None of the little ones live in Arizona, and this was a treat.
Little Darlin' was certain that she measured up to that line. She backed up, stood on her tippy toes, and said firmly "Look!"
I didn't remember that the amusement park was this big, or that the Ferris Wheel was this high (140') off the ground. LD braved the Ferris Wheel, and was fascinated by the sights and the sounds, the happy screams of older children on the rides, and she was determined to conquer the Dragon. That's it, there in the lower left of the photo.
You may not remember, but somewhere in the primitive part of your brain, your stomach remembers rides like this one that spin on an eccentric axis, pulling your body one way while your stomach heads sideways on a different course.
What fascinated me that night about my three year old Little Darlin' is how
quickly she adapted to an experience which in other circumstances would have been frightening.
She went through the same phases of learning that I'm going through in this un-nerving real estate ride we're on.
Here's what I saw:
- Self confidence. Look at that first picture up there. The little imp thinks she can do it herself!
- Assessment. From the top of the Ferris Wheel, she picked out the Dragon to conquer.
- Reinforcement. As the first whipping eccentric turn grabbed her, she grabbed my hand.
- Reassessment. Okay, I CAN do this. This isn't so bad. She dropped my hand.
- New self confidence. I can do it myself! Look! Look!!
I'm not as smart as a three year old sometimes! Buy hey! I'm Grandpa Oso, and I have lots of little teachers.
I'm Mike in Tucson, your preferred Tucson, Arizona mortgage lender.
Think of me as your local expert.
Comments(19)