The things I learned at Holiday World

Yesterday our family left home at 6:30am and set off for Holiday World in Indiana.  For those of you that don't know, Holiday World is an incredible theme park in the middle of cornfields.  The town is Santa Claus, Indiana.  The story of how the park came to be is actually google worthy.

We were one of the first cars in the parking lot and one of the last cars to leave.  To say we dominated the park would be an understatement.  Sometimes we stuck together and other times we divided to conquer.  Today, we are left with aching legs, sunburns, and smiles that seem to be stuck to our faces.

During our time at the park, I was actually quite reflective.  The following are some observations I made about life, love, and family.

1.  I care too much about what I look like.  I stood in front of the mirror and tried to figure out how to lose a quick 20lbs, get a tan, and pull my hair up into that up-do that says to the world "I don't care…I wake up like this" but it actually takes a good 30 minutes to perfect.  I put on a very small amount of make-up, but the lashes did get a coat of mascara.  At the waterpark, I realized that there are so many different body shapes and sizes.  Some were dressed modestly, others were not. My hairdo got wet on the first water slide and I spent the remainder of the day looking gross with mascara lines down my cheeks.  But it didn't matter.  When I was there, I forgot to care.  At one point, I was walking along holding hands with my three year old and she looked up at me and said, "We two cute girls, mama!"  Yes, E!  We two cute girls.  Don't ever lose your perspective!

2.. Teenage angst disappears when you go somewhere fun.  We've been having some serious attitude issues around here lately.  I don't remember picking up apathy from high school registration.  But, it made its ugly way into our home.  I've been praying about how to handle it with love and grace.  It was so much fun to have my son's sweet personality back.  It is a surreal thing to watch all of your children interact without the usual fighting and drama.  They were stuck in a Christmas morning excitement all day long.  They helped each other, they laughed with each other, and even bonded.  By the end of the day, I was daydreaming about adopting another child to plop in our perfect family.  :)

3.  My son, N, is REALLY good with a basketball.  I know this, of course.  I've spent countless hours at his games.  I watch him practice on the driveway consistently.  But, watching him become the family rockstar as he won basketballs for the entire family with his flawless free throws was amazing!  We all stood in amazement.  He stood with pride.

4.  My husband is a kid at heart.  That is one of the things I love the most about him.  He can be all business when he needs to be.  But, he sure knows how to have fun.  His WOO HOO!!!  could be heard on every ride.  His smile barely fit in the park.  He challenged the boys to ride the craziest rides in the place.  I really love that man!

5.  Where there is a will…there is a way!  I was a little nervous about how we would handle E's catheterization at the water park.  It was a small challenge.  Free soda kiosks around every corner; coupled with the fact that we had to leave her supplies in one location while we ran around and played added difficulty.  But we made it work.  I could be found running across concrete in my bare feet holding a 30lb child.  But we made it work!  Ironically, a child that shall never be named…stood in line so long with a full bladder that apparently he peed down his trunks and forced his dad to disperse the yellow puddle on the steps.  Sorry, Holiday World!

It was a short trip.  It was our farewell to summer 2014.  But hopefully, the bonding we did will carry us through the start of another crazy school year.