"Do Something That Scares You!" I sound like a broken record to my kids more often than not, but the above statement is something that I tell my children regularly. My kids are nervous kids, they are shy and they are tentative about most things in life. I feel like "Do Something That Scares You!" is my mantra, not just for the kids, but also for myself. I keep telling them (and also myself) that when you do something that scares you, when you're finished you wonder what took you so long. You realize that fear has kept you from doing something that you LOVE (or didn't love, but know you know for sure). Not only all of those things, but it allows you to push your boundaries that little bit further the next time.
That second morning, (after I had some delicious coffee coursing through my veins, and the world seemed like a better place than it had the night before) I sat the kids down. "We have some pretty amazing opportunities while we are here. This is your amazing opportunity to do something that you have always wanted to do, or that you have always wanted to do, but were a little afraid to try. I think that we should all make a point of pushing our comfort zones this vacation." I felt like I was giving a monumental speech, something that would rally them to greatness, but the reality was that they all gave me this blank far off stare and when they had heard that my voice had stopped asked "Can we go play?" I am pretty sure that they did not comprehend a single word that I had said. I shook my head, as I often do when dealing with my kids. They may not have been listening, but that did not detract in any way to my goal.
Deerhurst really does offer an amazing amount of opportunities to explore the great outdoors and to entertain yourself. When we had checked in the lady at the front desk had handed us a sheet listing all of the activities that were available to us (for an additional cost). It was mind numbing! This really was an amazing opportunity to push our boundaries and to do new things.
While we were off horseback riding, Christopher took Elly and Rowan to the Rock Climbing Wall. Elly had really wanted to go riding, but she was too little. Rowan had no desire to ride a horse. So while I was off ticking off an item from my bucket list, Christopher had the other two kids off pushing their boundaries in a safe environment. The cost for this activity is actually very reasonable. It cost $10.00 for a half hour. Christopher and I have done rock climbing at an indoor gym, and this was a real steal! At the indoor gym we paid a fee to climb and a separate fee to rent the equipment.
When we had finished our separate different activities we went back to our room to share each of our stories. Each kid spoke excitedly about their activity. Rowan and Elly were so proud of themselves. "I was up so high" Elly kept shouting out. "You should have seen them honey!" Christopher spit out, pride beaming from his eyes. Rowan doesn't like heights and so I was especially proud of him for doing this and pushing his boundaries. Not only was I really proud of him, he was really proud of himself!
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