1. Confidence comes in all shapes, sizes and ages! I saw size 2 sixteen year olds wearing bikinis and also saw forty/fifty year old mothers of four kids rocking the same bathing suit. It was amazing to me to see the different type of confidence (not cockiness), that an older/more mature woman has than a high school girl. The forty-year old knew that she did not look like she did back in high school but she could look around herself and see and hear the joy in the voices of her children. Those sights and sounds trumped any sixteen year old six pack!
2. There is nothing like the great, big smile on the face of a little girl who is having a special father/daughter day. Several times this year I would see a daughter holding tightly to her daddy's hand as they would slide, jump waves and float in the lazy river together. You could not help but smile yourself when you saw the shear joy on the face of the little girl. She knew it was a big deal that daddy had taken off work and set aside time to spend with her. It made me be thankful for the amazing daddy I had growing up who, even after an exhausting day or week at the office would invest in my life. I am also thankful for the incredible daddy that Ava has who is her own personal rock star!
3. It is the simple things in life that can be the most fun. Two of Ava's favorite things to do at Whitewater was to float/swim in the lazy river (Little Hooch) and to splash and twirl in the wave pool. With all of the slides and splash park that were created for just her age group, she preferred the simpler things. While watching her I was over and over again that sometimes the simplest things can bring so much joy.
4. We all need a time out every now and then. Since Ava is an independent 2 1/2 year old, there were times this year that we had to stop our fun and just take a minute to sit down and regroup. As her mother I could see when the behavior or tantrum was about to escalate, so I would just take her to an empty chair and have her sit down and take a break. Even as adults we need to remember to stop and take a break. When we feel our temper getting ready to explode or our mouth about to say something we can not take back, we need to put ourselves in a time out. "Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be ever pleasing to you oh LORD my God!"
5. Being brave can be as simple as holding hands or holding on to someone you trust. At the beginning of the summer, my little 2 1/2 year old was a little weary of Whitewater. In the lazy river she would want me to hold her and on the slides she would cling to me like a spider monkey. Fast forward to the last few weeks of the summer and she is swimming in the lazy river and does not want me to touch her and on the slides, she is going down them by herself. All it took was for her to do these once scary things a few times with me, her Mommy whom she trusts, and then she was willing to do them by herself. Many times in our Christian walk when God asks us do something out of our comfort zone, it can be scary. But once we are are willing to step out on faith in the small things, we build our confidence and are will to step out and grow our faith in big things.
