Courage and Carousels
Frankie and Maebz have been friends since before birth. I worked alongside her mother, where we became friends and just happened to get pregnant 3 months apart. Needless to say we have traded off watching each other's kids ever since they were born. Frankie and I pick up Maebz from school once a week and hang out together. When the girls did ballet, our routine was, I would pick Maebz up from school and we would go get ice cream at our favorite ice cream spot Mayday Ice Cream. Then I would take the girls to the park or home to play and do arts and crafts. On this particular day, Maebz was triumph of her fears.
Since we are members of Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens | Jacksonville, Florida Attractions, we love to visit the animals frequently. One of the Jaguars recently had a cub and I wanted to take the girls to see “Banks”. The weather forecast was partly cloudy with a 50% chance of rain. But this is Florida and there is always a 50% chance of rain…it’s either going to rain or it's not. It could rain at my house and stay completely dry 2 houses down. If it does rain, it is usually brief. I observed the sky, and it was blue with white puffy clouds passing by. Up until we pulled up to the Zoo. In the near distance I see the sky lingering dark and gray right over the Zoo. Having just driven 30 minutes, I told the girls that we are going to make a run for the gift shop at the entrance and wait out the storm.
As we got to the door, I told the girls not to touch anything without asking me first. They agreed and we made it into the store just as the bottom fell out and it started pouring rain. These little angels did exactly what I asked. Therefore, I allowed them to play with inexpensive, non-fragile toys. There was this older nonfunctioning mechanical ride that at one time moved for a quarter. However, this one did not work, but it was a little jeep and they enjoyed pretending to drive it. It definitely helped pass the time. After about 45 minutes the rain stopped, and the skies cleared. Now the Zoo was business as usual, and it was time to see some animals. It couldn't have been more perfect. The animals seemed to really enjoy that the rain cooled things off. They were all out and very active, so we got to see so many of them.
The girls requested to ride the train, so we hopped on and rode to the other side of the Zoo. Next to the train stop is the carousel. Frankie said, “let's go ride the carousel Maebz”. Well, the excitement must have gotten the best of Maebz because she forgot she was fearful of riding the carousel until after they picked which animal to ride and sat on top. Then Maebz looked at me and said with dread, “I don’t want to ride it, I want off!”. To which I immediately responded by unbuckling her and Frankie and taking them off the ride.
Frankie was not happy that she couldn’t ride. I got down to eye level with Maebz and asked her to just watch the carousel one time and see if it changes her mind. Then I walked over to Frankie who was visibly upset that she could not ride. I got down next to Frankie and explained that Maebz was having a hard time because she had never ridden a carousel and she was scared. I suggested that Frankie comfort Maebz and tell her that everything will be ok, we would be right there with her ensuring she was safe. I am not exactly sure if that is what she said to her, but whatever it was, Maebz agreed to give it another try. With determination in her eyes, Maebz walked through the line, got up on the dolphin and latched her belt. Just as she was about to say that she changed her mind she didn’t want to ride it, the bell sounded. That meant the Carousel was about to start moving. It was too late to get off now. And just like that, she did it, she rode that Carousel dolphin proudly. Nervously, but proudly. She said, “I like it, I like it, this is fun!” Frankie and I both grinned ear to ear. It was a proud moment and that energy lasted through the rest of the day.
As a matter of fact, Maebz was unstoppable. On the way home we stopped at my friend's house to feed her dogs and go for a quick dip in the pool. Maebz was willing to put her face under water and blow bubbles. Apparently, it was something she didn't really like to do, but she did it. Her confidence level was through the roof. I am so grateful I got to witness such courage in such a little person. I was proud of Maebz for trying new things and I was proud of Frankie for being her cheerleader and comforting her through it all. What I thought would be just a typical day together with friends, doing our thing, turned out to be a day full of surprises and accomplishments. These precious angels are such an inspiration. Watch out for “The Adventures of Frankie and Maebz.” .... coming soon.