Noah has been a fan of the animated Disney/Pixar movie Cars for a few years now. It's a great movie - the music always has us up off the couch, and there's great lessons to draw from too - like having the right amount of confidence in one's self. This month, Cars 2 will be coming to theaters - and to promote the movie, they are on a multi-city tour. We happened to be one of them, so after Aaron got home from work, we trekked on over to the "Cars 2 - Agents on a Mission" event sponsored by State Farm at Northpark Mall.
I guess I should have anticipated the lines - but I didn't. I have never been one to wait in line for Hollywood-hype. But it wasn't about that for the kids. They didn't care much about the life-size remote controlled cars. It was the bounce house that gripped their hearts. I explained (judging from what I saw) that we would have to wait in line for a "looooooong time" before we could test it out (the line circled the parking lot). They both said yes - and wanted to wait. Aaron looked at me crazed, and I felt that way too - but I wanted the kids to learn a valuable lesson - that not everything they "want" comes easy. And if they "really wanted it," than they have the option to be patient for it. But we gave them an option B - to just take some pics from afar and then get out of the heat and go swimming....
They held their ground, and waited! I was really impressed with their patience, and the fact that they both stood for most of it. Staff walked around handing out tattoos and magnets...
Getting closer in line, and to Noah's nap time, I picked him up and danced while Radio Disney DJ'd some music for us. After 1.5 hours of waiting, I noticed that the bounce house was being deflated. So Aaron walked over to find out why. Aaron, being the great Dad that he is - wouldn't stand for this, and wanted to at least express to the manager in charge what a disappointment their event is to all those who have been patiently waiting in this heat to simply bounce and have fun. He also wanted the manager to know that his staff misguided all the families by telling them that "as long as you're in line by 7, you can still get in and participate in all of the activities." The manager simply apologized and did nothing else. No other families complained or moved out of line - they just stood there and watched us - oof!
All Noah and Ava wanted to do was to bounce - but in the end, all we achieved this evening was disappointment. Because even though they did exactly what they were told {and very patiently in this heat might I add} - not everything goes as planned. Noah and Ava didn't whine or cry when we explained what happened. They simply accepted it and listened to what their remaining options were: continue waiting and just get their pictures taken with McQueen and Mater, or go home and swim...
At 7:10, with still more than 50 people in front of us, they both chose option B this time. And I couldn't be more proud of them both for not wasting another second of their childhood fun and choosing instead what was in their best interest - all by themselves.
OHhh. Noé y Ava are angels. My children have cried and me too
ReplyDeleteI would have expected the same thing from the kids too. And maybe inside I was crying because of the heat. I was actually really upset with the adults running the show. But what were our choices? And how can we set a good example? I'm glad that they saw Aaron talk to the manager and express his frustration. We always tell the kids to "communicate" their feelings instead of pouting. So I guess its actually worked! Thanks again G!
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