Parenting win!!

Every once in a while, you get to experience a "win" in your parenting.  It is a pretty nice feeling.

Last Sunday, we took the kids to their first rodeo.  Well, lets back up just a bit.  I am not a big rodeo fan.  Especially now that I have kids.  It is fun and all to watch the events, but fighting the crowds, the prices, the traffic, the drunks, the prices, the idiots, the teeny-boppers, the prices, and generally staying up late is not really my cup of tea.  In fact, I told Marlina, when she came across free tickets to a Wednesday night performance, that I was definitely not interested in going to the rodeo.  Additionally, the only way I would even consider going to rodeo this year was if she could get FREE tickets to a Sunday matinee. Well, on our way home from Church that Sunday morning, she got the call.  Free tickets were waiting for us in our mailbox.  Talk about a backfire!!

Next came the announcement to the kids that we were going.  This was after a week of pestering Dad that "all the other kids had gone to the rodeo already, so-and-so got to ride a bunch of rides at the carnival, they got to eat cotton candy and ice cream, and there are kids who ride sheep!  I want to ride a sheep!  Pleeeasssee!!!!!"  Well, now that I was cornered by my wife who secured the free tickets to the matinee, and the kids who desperately want to go, I had no choice but to follow through.  I said "Hey kids, how would you like to go to the rodeo today?"  I was immediately greeted by cheers and hoorays , and even some shouts. 

Then came the dreaded "Changing of the Mind".  After we got home and changed clothes, Katie decided that she didn't want to go to the rodeo.  On top of that, there wasn't anything that anyone could do to change her mind.  She wasn't going to go.  Keep in mind that five minutes prior, she was the one who was whooping and hollering about how much fun it was going to be and that she was so excited. 

At this moment, I almost slid into default mode where I just make the kids go and I tell them that "you said you wanted to go, and Mom got tickets, so by-golly, we are going and you are going to like it".  I don't know if it was the calmness I was feeling upon just returning from Church, or all the parenting podcasts I have been listening to, or the Captain and coke I was sipping on, but for some reason, I decided to try a different tactic.  I called Katie over to me, go down to her eye level, and plainly asked her, "Katie, do you not want to go to the rodeo because you aren't really sure of what a rodeo is and you are a little scared of that?"  She nodded.  "Katie, has Dad ever taken you some place really bad and scary?"  "No."  "Don't I usually take you places that are fun and exciting?"  "Yes."  "I am asking you to trust me that you will like this once you give it a chance.  Do you trust me?"  "Yes."  "Well, then, lets go to the rodeo!"  "Ok Daddy!"

And with that, we went and everyone had a blast.  Even grumpy old Dad.