The Little Dipper

Today was a day of nostalgia, it was the last day that Kaity would ever be an 8 yr old. She told me several time today that it was the last time she would ever have breakfast as an 8 yr old, the last time she was going to six flags as an 8 yr old. While were at 6 Flags she was so excited that The Little Dipper was open. It opened on Memorial Day but we were off celebrating Kunks graduation so we had not had a chance to ride it yet. It was to be the last ride of her last day at 6 flags as an 8 yr old. She stood in line for almost an hour and then when they were the next people to be loaded onto the ride it broke down. She was so disappointed. As everybody filed back out the entrance line, snaking through the entire cue line they had spent an hour progressing through I saw several angry adults, several pouting children, and a lot of disappointment. The staff at 6 flags were trying to help soothe the feathers of all of the guests with a ticket for a free beverage at another time for the inconvenience. Kaity had seen people passing out these little slips of paper and it had tempered the disappointment for a moment. We had gotten passes like that before but they allowed you to enter a ride through the exit and skip the line. She was sure that is what the pass would say. When it was placed in her hand and it said a free drink her shoulders slumped. We were walking towards the exit to go home for the day and she looked at me and said "I will never get to ride Little Dipper as an 8 yr old Mom, tomorrow I will be 9 and I really wanted to ride it as an 8 yr old" It was the end of a very full, very fun day and I didn't want that to be the note that we ended our day on. As we walked I asked her how we could fix it. She knew the ride was broken and it was already 20 minutes past closing so riding it simply wouldn't happen. She asked if we could talk to "a boss" about it. I wasn't in the line, I didn't get turned away so I told her she could talk to one if she chose. It became a teaching moment, which I am totally geeked for finding. She started to think about what she wanted to tell the boss. I listened to her words spilling out, how she was frustrated and we didn't need a drink coupon, how it was her last day as an 8 yr old, how she had stood in line for so long. I talked to her about how it was okay to be disappointed it was not okay to be rude. It is okay to negotiate for what you want but a negotiation is not a guarantee. As we approached the exit she was ready to talk to a boss and her shoulders were no longer slumped. Right before we got to an exit I said "Okay baby don't forget to...." and she interjected "Speak slowly, enunciate, and talk loud enough for them to hear me, I'm ready Mom and if they say no I will just say thank you to them for listening" She walked up to a man dressed in a shirt and tie and said:
"Excuse me, may I speak to you for a minute?" He smiled at her and said sure and she took a deep breath and continued, "Hi, my name is Kaity and I am 8 years old. Tomorrow is my birthday and I really wanted to ride Little Dipper but it broke when we were in the line. They gave us coupons for a free drink but we have had a lot of drinks today. I was just wondering if I could trade my drink passes for a pass to go in the out, I have gotten to go in the out before and you don't have to stand in line." Pretty articulate for a tired 8 year old, the boss thought so too. He smiled at her and motioned to the lady next to him "My friend here can help you with that Kaity, I'm sorry you didn't get to ride" The friend reached in her fanny pack o'goodies and pulled out the passes that Kaity thought she was getting. She gave her enough for our entire family and then told her to keep the drink coupons too. They wished her a Happy Birthday and we walked over to join the rest of our group. Our day had ended and it wasn't with slumped shoulders and pouting face. Instead it was pride on that freckled face. She learned, on this last day of being 8 years old, that you get to negotiate in your life, this time with better than expected results. I am sure this is a lesson we will revisit throughout her life, I want her to be empowered not entitled. I want her to know she can stand up for herself and still be respectful, kind, and thoughtful. Today she learned that she is a Tigger not an Eeyore. What a great day!