You may remember the Touch a Truck event we attended last year. It was such a success I tried to recruit Ben for this year's event. I just knew it would be fabulous.
Oh, I still have a lot to learn about lowering my expectations.
Reid was most excited about the garbage truck. "Why does it have a hopper mommy?"
"I don't know, why Reid?"
"So it can crush all the garbage!"
Thirty seconds later, "Why does it have those hydraulic arms mommy?"
"I don't know, why Reid?"
"To lift up the garbage cans and dump in the garbage!"
Yeah, the kid knows his garbage trucks. The first thing he did when he got inside? Pulled the air horn. No other air horn had gone off in the five minutes we waited in line. Sure kids were honking the wheel horns, but most kids had no idea what the tiny white string on the ceiling of the cab did. Reid did. And boy did he let it roar. Scared the turd out of him, but it was the first thing he did.
Next we got in line at the front end loader, which was parked right in front of the garbage truck. And you know what nearly every little boy that got in the garbage truck after Reid did? They pulled that string. They blew that air horn. And my kids cried. Reid bawled. It horrified them. The mother in line behind me started giving me warnings, "oh, a kid is sitting up to pull the horn," and I'd warn them while trying to cover their ears and hug them tightly. Still, they cried.
Next he wanted to see the concrete mixer. Half way through the line he changed his mind and asked to see the fire truck. I made the wrong choice. I told him we weren't getting out of line and he'd have to wait until after we saw the concrete truck.
Well, the kid right in front of us blew the concrete truck's air horn and Reid refused to get inside. Absolutely refused. "I want to see the fire truck."
"If you're going to cry like this over every horn we are just going home."
"I want to go home."
Parenting fail #1: don't make threats you don't intend to keep.
I'd packed a picnic. I was hoping on meeting up with some friends. I had anticipated Reid and Nell's excitement while they raced from truck to truck, giggling with pure joy. This event was going to be a perfect, blissful day.
Lower your expectations, mom.
After he cried to go home I begged him to go see the fire truck, but he insisted on going home. I loaded them up in the car, but refused to drive away. "Reid, don't you want to go back and see the fire truck? What about the street sweeper?"
"No, mommy. Go home!"
I sent Ben a frustrated text. I'd spent the morning packing the picnic, the diaper bag, the camera, checking the weather, it was a 15 minute drive ... the list of reasons I didn't want turn around and go home after 20 minutes of touching trucks (aka, waiting in lines) was quite extensive.
After some violent images from a three year old, regarding putting people in the garbage truck's hopper and crushing them -- I realized Reid did want to see the trucks -- he just didn't want other kids there -- blowing those darn air horns. He also complained about being hungry. Fine, I resorted, we'll have our picnic at 10:30 in the morning.
So we spent a lovely hour at the near by park. We found our friends I was hoping to bump into, and I was comforted to know her son showed little interest in the trucks as well. By 11:30 I told Reid it was time to start heading home, and I asked him (for the dozenth time) if he wanted to see the fire truck.
"Yes!" he shrilled with excitement. And the school bus. And the police car. And the mail truck. And the tow truck. Maybe all he needed was his buddy by his side, because the two of them ran from line to line and climbed in each vehicle with the joy I had anticipated.
By this point in the day the lines were somewhat shorter (even though we showed up the moment the event started) and the air horn enthusiasm seemed to wain. The last truck he waited in line to climb on was the garbage truck. He was reaching for the second step when I asked "Are you going to blow the horn again?" He immediately climbed down and refused to go inside. This time I decided not to be disappointed. We just walked back to the car as we watched all the trucks pack up and drive away.
Oh, I still have a lot to learn about lowering my expectations.
Reid was most excited about the garbage truck. "Why does it have a hopper mommy?"
"I don't know, why Reid?"
"So it can crush all the garbage!"
Thirty seconds later, "Why does it have those hydraulic arms mommy?"
"I don't know, why Reid?"
"To lift up the garbage cans and dump in the garbage!"
Yeah, the kid knows his garbage trucks. The first thing he did when he got inside? Pulled the air horn. No other air horn had gone off in the five minutes we waited in line. Sure kids were honking the wheel horns, but most kids had no idea what the tiny white string on the ceiling of the cab did. Reid did. And boy did he let it roar. Scared the turd out of him, but it was the first thing he did.
Next we got in line at the front end loader, which was parked right in front of the garbage truck. And you know what nearly every little boy that got in the garbage truck after Reid did? They pulled that string. They blew that air horn. And my kids cried. Reid bawled. It horrified them. The mother in line behind me started giving me warnings, "oh, a kid is sitting up to pull the horn," and I'd warn them while trying to cover their ears and hug them tightly. Still, they cried.
Next he wanted to see the concrete mixer. Half way through the line he changed his mind and asked to see the fire truck. I made the wrong choice. I told him we weren't getting out of line and he'd have to wait until after we saw the concrete truck.
Well, the kid right in front of us blew the concrete truck's air horn and Reid refused to get inside. Absolutely refused. "I want to see the fire truck."
"If you're going to cry like this over every horn we are just going home."
"I want to go home."
Parenting fail #1: don't make threats you don't intend to keep.
I'd packed a picnic. I was hoping on meeting up with some friends. I had anticipated Reid and Nell's excitement while they raced from truck to truck, giggling with pure joy. This event was going to be a perfect, blissful day.
Lower your expectations, mom.
"No, mommy. Go home!"
I sent Ben a frustrated text. I'd spent the morning packing the picnic, the diaper bag, the camera, checking the weather, it was a 15 minute drive ... the list of reasons I didn't want turn around and go home after 20 minutes of touching trucks (aka, waiting in lines) was quite extensive.
After some violent images from a three year old, regarding putting people in the garbage truck's hopper and crushing them -- I realized Reid did want to see the trucks -- he just didn't want other kids there -- blowing those darn air horns. He also complained about being hungry. Fine, I resorted, we'll have our picnic at 10:30 in the morning.
So we spent a lovely hour at the near by park. We found our friends I was hoping to bump into, and I was comforted to know her son showed little interest in the trucks as well. By 11:30 I told Reid it was time to start heading home, and I asked him (for the dozenth time) if he wanted to see the fire truck.
"Yes!" he shrilled with excitement. And the school bus. And the police car. And the mail truck. And the tow truck. Maybe all he needed was his buddy by his side, because the two of them ran from line to line and climbed in each vehicle with the joy I had anticipated.
By this point in the day the lines were somewhat shorter (even though we showed up the moment the event started) and the air horn enthusiasm seemed to wain. The last truck he waited in line to climb on was the garbage truck. He was reaching for the second step when I asked "Are you going to blow the horn again?" He immediately climbed down and refused to go inside. This time I decided not to be disappointed. We just walked back to the car as we watched all the trucks pack up and drive away.
1 comment:
This was an exciting event, both for the kids and the kids at heart. Haha! It may have had a little emotional breakdown at the start, but at least you were able to end it good. Anyhow, are you planning to do this again for this year?
Rudy Swanson @ Haaker
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