The Kids Conquered the Twisty Slide!

Grace is a cautious kid. She likes to feel like she has control of her surroundings, so slides have never been her favorite thing at the playground. The unknown of how fast she will fly down makes her avoid slides like the plague. So when we went to the park on Thursday and saw a big yellow twisty slide, I wasn’t surprised she vehemently declared that she did not want to go on it.

But then Daddy decided to go on it (even though he was clearly too big for it), and so Grace’s curiosity was peaked. She and Maddy both asked Daddy to take them down it 2 or 3 times, but he soon grew tired of it and went to sit down beside Harper and I on the grass.

The big yellow twisty slide seemed to beckon the kids to try it on their own, so timidly they walked up the stairs to the top of the playset and stared at the bright plastic.

Then, taking a big, brave breath, Grace sat down and went down the slide on her own….and she loved it! Maddy followed after and they spent almost the rest of the hour adventuring with the slide. They went down on their own. They went down together as a train. They slid sticks down and then followed after. The even tried going down on their stomachs.

At the end of the day, that big yellow twisty slide was no longer a scary mystery. It had become their friend, and my mama heart filled with pride at seeing my kids try something that originally had been tough and scary for them.