A Taste of My Own Medicine

On our recent family trip to Williamsburg, Virginia, it was my soon to be 9 year old son that challenged me to take my own advice.

Our son is adventurous by nature but good old anxiety can often deter him from the more exciting things in life. One way to help him through his anxious feelings is to tell him how some believe you should do one thing that scares you every day. Challenge yourself and soon you'll find that you'll have more courage than expected, making those anxiety-producing events less of a nuisance.

You can imagine my surprise when the tables were turned. As we walked around Water Country USA, our eyes were drawn to the extremely tall tower you must climb to board their "Aquazoid" raft ride, most of which is in complete darkness. I had no interest in this ride - both for the height of the tower and the unknown that awaited me in those dark tunnels. As I encouraged my husband and son to have fun and I'd meet them later (they must sell margaritas here somewhere I thought), my son paused and looked up at me. "But what about doing that one thing that scares you everyday, Mom?"

A million excuses popped into my head. Mom might get sick, Mom might fall off, Mom won't fit, Mom needs to go check her voicemail. Where is that margarita when you need it? Yet those eyes kept starring at me, longing for the response he wanted to hear.

As I climbed the several-story high tower, my knuckles were sore from holding on so tightly. I couldn't believe people actually do this for fun. I tried my best not to look down. As we boarded our raft, my son smiled at me, reminding me that all will be ok. "You can do this, Mom," he encouraged.

Numerous screams and several laughs later, we were at the bottom of the Aquazoid. We did it! We actually did it and survived. I got a taste of my own medicine and, in turn, my son's renewed confidence in himself from encouraging me to face my fear was worth more than you can imagine. I actually enjoyed it so much that we went on it again. Who knew facing your fears could be this much fun?! Having someone believe in you and seeing you through really helps. You never know what you're capable of accomplishing until you try.