The Black Hole

By Christine

It was hot. It was wet. It was the water park on the outskirts of Ingolstadt.

My kids have taught me many things, and on my more generous days, I'd say they are pretty much responsible for my being the courageous person I am today. Before I had kids, I couldn't tie a knot on a balloon. Today, I can do it with my eyes closed.

And closed they were as we trudged up the stairs to the highest point of the water park building. My 6-year-old daughter Sophia prodded me to go down the "Magic Eye" slide on an inner tube with her on my lap. We twisted, turned, and fought with gravity until the bitter end. I grew alarmed as we headed for the first stop which slowed us down. Barrelling behind us, a group of pre-teens appeared to be headed straight for our safe haven. We urgently rushed forward, plunging into the abyss of the next pike. It was, by far, one of my scariest moments.

The "Black Hole" was the slide my 3-year-old son, Jackson, wanted to go down. Shivering in line, his blue lips revealed he was no more frightened than if he were eating birthday cake. As we readied ourselves at the mouth of the slide, I forced myself to think bright thoughts: "Black Forest cake with a side of vanilla ice cream..."

I clutched Jackson's little body as the light turned green, indicating we were next to meet our doom.

"Lie down, Mama!" Jackson commanded, wanting more velocity than I cared to have. Obediently, I lied down, eyes closed (again) and shrieking at the top of my lungs. When we got to the bottom, I felt elated. And proud. I did it. I really did it!

Our kids really do teach us to face our fears. With or without our eyes wide shut.

Christine is an American author and freelance writer living near Munich, Germany, with her husband and two children (Jackson, 4 and Sophia, 6).

Comments

[Robin P]

Two years ago,my sister Kara and I took Lillianna to Six Flags. We went to the water slide park there which Kara had been to a few weeks earlier.
She lied and told us we would love this particular ride. It was a big tube that 3 twenty year old boys joined us in. Apparently 6 was a good number.
The weight was not distributed correctly and we almost tipped over quite a few times. I had my eyes shut as I squeezed Lillianna as tightly as I could. She screamed the whole way down.
It was a nightmare.
Glad you had fun!!

[Jo]

You're a far braver woman than I. I usually either send the hubby down with the kids or else I make the teenager do it. LOL. Kudos to you for braving the Black Hole!

[blogfortwo]

Water slides are great!! Welcome to the world of water parks.