Not a Chance!

So my Monk and Tink - they are very different children as you might have gleaned from my other posts. Monk is outgoing, a people pleaser, obedient and surprisingly - a risk taker. She will usually try something at least once before she will refuse to do it again if she decided she is too scared or isn't comfortable. Then there is Tink who, as her mother, thought for sure since she is sneaky, mischievous, charming full of energy and STUBBORN like you would not believe, that she would be the first one to try new things. WRONG! This would be perfectly described in our Friday adventure at Hamilton pool on Friday, June 6th. Tink is 6 years old and has had swimming lessons before and knows how to swim, but absolutely refuses to do so. So she hangs on me the entire time grabbing and pinching me to hang on while she swims around. She is happy as long as she is holding on to me. I spent two hours trying to get her to swim in the kiddie part of the pool and she flat out refused.

So my sister-in-law (HB) and I were talking by the wall and Tink was standing there jumping up and down in the water (of course holding on to me at the same time) and HB says to Tink, "Tink - why don't you go to the kiddie slide with your cousins?" Tink, without missing a beat, turns her head to HB and emphatically states, "Not a Chance!" I then tried to coax her and she again replied, "Nope, I am not taking any chances, no, no, no!

This got me to thinking about life. I am not a risk taker, in fact I am just the opposite of a risk taker. I play it safe all the time. I am sure people think I am a risk taker because I am very outgoing, friendly, sometimes loud and outspoken, but I am really a very safe person. I always wear my seat belt, I wear sunblock, I don't drive that fast, I usually order the same thing every time when I go to a restaurant, etc. I guess I am boring! Anyway, as I thought about my daughter, whom I want to experience everything that is good and exciting in life, I thought it was sad that she is already so afraid to try new things. Aren't kids supposed to want adventure and freedom to explore new and exciting things....? I think most kids are and maybe Tink will get there someday. I mean, it is fine that she likes to play it safe, there is certainly nothing wrong with living a safe life, holding an imaginary sign that might read, "I'm a safety girl" (kudos to anyone who knows what movie that line is from), but there comes a time when I think that taking chances and taking risks can lead us to greater happiness then we could ever know. Like with Faith - you have to jump off that cliff, believing that you will be caught and then you can experience things you would never have experienced than if you just played it safe.

So I decided that I am going to take a risk before the end of the year. I am going to try something that I normally would not do. I am going to try a new dish in a restaurant and I am going to seek out an adventure. I'll keep you posted on how it is going. Anyone want to join me?