…are going to be the death of me. Really.
There is something about watching my son with Type 1 diabetes strap himself into a amusement park ride that incites such fear in me that it is almost inexplicable.
I live with many thoughts about my son’s safety. Will he be safe in school all day. Will he be able to handle a sleep over all by himself. Will he be able to count carbs at a birthday party. Will he know to compensate for actively swimming all day and night in the summer. Will he be alive when I wake up in the morning. Yes, really, that is one of thoughts I have had every single day for the past 6 years.
But it is the fear of amusement park rides that make me break out into a cold sweat. They make my heart beat fast and my breathing get shallow. I am afraid of them. He, of course, is not. In fact he may have some of the same feelings as me like heart beating faster but it is only because he CANNOT wait to strap himself in and as they say, enjoy the ride.
While I love that he is enjoying himself like all the other 10 year olds out there, I mean that has been a big one on my list since the day he was diagnosed…kid first…the fear still remains. When the ride empties out and he is the last one to come off the ride I envision him slumped over still strapped in his seat too low to get himself out of the seat. Yes this is a completely irrational thought for me, especially because time and time again amusement parks rides make him go high, but whether it is an irrational fear or not does not matter to me, the fear remains.
I smile. I take pictures. I hold my belly from the twists and turns it takes just by me watching him on the ride. I do feel better when I am on the ride with him, but with an 8 year old daughter who is not a fan of the rides, I am usually left standing in the viewing section with her.
Gravitron. Ugh.
Casino. Yikes.
Round up. C’mon!
Sizzler. Shoot.
Dizzy Dragons. Blech.
Wacky House. Darn.
Zipper. Oh no!
I hate them all. He LOVES them all.
And with that I ask…
where can I buy more tickets?