He's so brave. His daredevil streak rears its head often but somehow it still surprises me every time. I've seen it at amusement parks when Sam is the one dragging us on to the scariest of roller coasters. I've noticed it while watching terrifying movies; they drive his older brother out of the the room in fear while Sam stays put loving the exhilaration. It's with us in the doctor's office when he holds his head high and says "I won't cry. I'll be fine" and makes it through the shot he's obsessively worried about for the whole week prior. So I don't know if Brain Balance gets all the credit for the fearless Sam that's here with us in Jamaica but he's been more independent and scare-free than I've seen before and each time I've had to step back in awe of this rock star we created.
Brave moment #1: We went to this awful place called Margaritaville. We were told they serve 52 kinds of margaritas and have great water slides that will entertain the kids for hours. Who can say no to that? Not me. So off we went in our white van with high expectations and we were quickly disappointed. One look at the menu showed there were exactly three types of margarita. Where are the 52? I asked, disappointment spreading across my face. Ah man, it's a state of mind, the waiter replied. So I tried the basic and was satisfied but not thrilled. And the water park we'd been promised? Maybe it would be fun for a teen but to the two nine year olds and one eight year old we brought along, it was intimidating. To enter the water, you could either climb down the rickety ladder into the murky Caribbean Sea. Or you could take the stairs to the top of Margaritaville, squeeze yourself into the orangey-yellow tube of death and slide down to the sea. Doesn't sound too bad but we can't forget about the three foot drop when the slide spits you out. No thank you.
Sam opted for the ladder. He's no fool. His brother and friend climbed in first. They swam out to the trampoline and climbed on. They did a few bounces, had enough and swam back to shore for some nachos and smoothies. Sam kept on swimming. He went past the trampoline and made it all the way out to the deepest slide. Tom went along and they had a moment of father son bonding under the slide. Ann and I watched in amazement as the youngest and least strong of the three braved the sea and the inflatables.
Brave moment #1: We went to this awful place called Margaritaville. We were told they serve 52 kinds of margaritas and have great water slides that will entertain the kids for hours. Who can say no to that? Not me. So off we went in our white van with high expectations and we were quickly disappointed. One look at the menu showed there were exactly three types of margarita. Where are the 52? I asked, disappointment spreading across my face. Ah man, it's a state of mind, the waiter replied. So I tried the basic and was satisfied but not thrilled. And the water park we'd been promised? Maybe it would be fun for a teen but to the two nine year olds and one eight year old we brought along, it was intimidating. To enter the water, you could either climb down the rickety ladder into the murky Caribbean Sea. Or you could take the stairs to the top of Margaritaville, squeeze yourself into the orangey-yellow tube of death and slide down to the sea. Doesn't sound too bad but we can't forget about the three foot drop when the slide spits you out. No thank you.
Sam opted for the ladder. He's no fool. His brother and friend climbed in first. They swam out to the trampoline and climbed on. They did a few bounces, had enough and swam back to shore for some nachos and smoothies. Sam kept on swimming. He went past the trampoline and made it all the way out to the deepest slide. Tom went along and they had a moment of father son bonding under the slide. Ann and I watched in amazement as the youngest and least strong of the three braved the sea and the inflatables.
Brave moment #2: Jamaica is one of four locations worldwide that has a luminescent bay. Who knew? Not me. We went to check it out via boat last night. We had a horrible dinner, followed by the worst rum punch ever and then headed out into the dark to see the glow in the dark water that we were promised. Shock of shocks, it truly glowed. They invited everyone in to swim. But don't stir up the mud on the bottom, the captain warned. If you do, you won't be able see the glow. Yuck. Again Sam braved the ladder down into the now dark lagoon. He jumped in with the random adults. Ben and Ann's son sat back in amazement. Let it be known that there was no way I would have jumped into that dark-never-see-the-bottom-because-of-all-the-goop-in-the-water water. And Tom acknowledged his fear. "I'm not ashamed to say my eight year old is braver than me."
Amazing.
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