The Giant Slide

Last week the guide for the Minnesota State Fair came out in our Sunday paper with a picture of the infamous "Giant Slide." I showed it to Avery and proudly proclaimed that on Tuesday (Mommy day) we would be going to the state fair and we would be going down the giant slide.
Without ever mentioning it again, last night Avery woke up crying and when I went to his room to calm him down he said, "Mommy, I don't like that slide."

We made it to the fair today, for better or worse, and we found the Giant Slide almost immediately. I told Avery he should face his fears and we should go down the slide together. He reluctantly agreed and we paid our $4 and headed up what seemed like 500 steps to the top of the slide. He was totally scared out of his wits when we got up there, but somehow I managed to get him on my lap without a total freakout and we made our way down the slide. He wrenched his stomach and gritted his teeth the whole way down. At the bottom he jumped up and ran away as fast as he could. I ran after him and here's how our conversation went:

Mommy: "That was fun, wasn't it Avery?"

Avery: "No, that was scary!!"

Mommy: "But you were very brave, you went down the slide."

Avery: "No, I wasn't brave, I was really really scared! You were brave Mommy."