Buckle up (unlike us) this story is long. Obligatory "this happened last year."Last year, my husband surprised us with a trip to a local amusement park. It has lots of rides and it was the first time we had taken our Spawn.The day started great. We started with mini golf because we got there before the rest of the rides opened, it was a nice cool day for our side of the country, and we were playing to our usual family rules, which are to cheat, often and obviously. We had a blast and when the park finally opened, we went in. I have a 9 year old, who is usually pretty timid, and a five year old who is a constant whirlwind, just never stops.We decided to walk around the park and let them choose the first rides. My five year old immediately chose a water ride, for which she was just barely tall enough. There's not much of a line, we waited less than five minutes. The boats don't stop and don'thave seat belts. You just jump in and off you go! They're a ton of fun, and you get absolutely soaked during the ride. Our nine year old was with me, 5 was with hubs getting into the next boat.9 and I are in the boat when I hear a blood curdling scream from behind us. 5 has freaked out and won't get on the ride. Hubby takes her back to the entrance and waits for us.I think we could have convinced her that it would be OK, if the next part hadn't happened. 9 and I are approaching the last big hill to climb, soaking wet and cackling our faces off, when the boat ahead of us stops. We collide with them, and shortly thereafter two more boats hit us. We're stuck and there's no safe way off of this ride. Teenagers behind us are screaming that we're all going to die. Awesome.We sat for about half an hour, I'm comforting my kid and cracking jokes with the parent ahead of us, and two workers walk up to us on the safety rails. We're rescued! It took a lot of convincing to get 9 to walk the safety rail and hop the gap, but we did it. One of our rescuers told us that the water level was lower than it should have been and that's why the first boat got stuck. They closed the ride for half an hour to pump in more water. 5 was watching with my husband from an observation deck the whole time.5 no longer wants to go on any rides but the carousel and bumper cars, while 9 got a taste of adrenaline and wants to conquer EVERY. RIDE. IN. THE. PARK. I'm thrilled! My usually timid little is so excited about something previously deemed "scary." But 5 still isn't budging. Intermittently throughout the day, she asks to go try the water ride again. We try, repeatedly. She always backs out. That's ok. It's not a life or death matter. We're all having fun regardless.We're there all day alternating who is on the carousel or bumper cars with 5. Finally we're about to leave, ten minutes to closing time, and 5 decides she can't go without riding the water ride. We go back, and for the first time since the first ride, there's no line to wait in, and a boat is approaching. Hubs doesn't want to ride any more. He has back surgery two years previously and is starting to get achy. It doesn't matter, three can ride in a boat. 9 hops in, I follow. The water is rushing and loud, people are still screaming and the big roller coaster is roaring above us. I can't hear anything. 5 reaches out for me and I grab her and pull her in just before we cross the "too late" line.She's screaming. Absolutely terrified. "No mommy, I wanted YOU out! I don't want to, I don't want to, I'm scared!" She's screaming and clawing at me, trying to get out of the boat. There's nowhere to get out. We go through a dark cave and she's absolutely flipping out and I'm just trying like hell to hold on to her so she doesn't get hurt. I'm not a big lady. I'm 5'2" and she comes to my waist, and she's STRONG, from all the whirlwinding she does. We spend three and a half minutes screaming and struggling. She's crying. I'm crying. I feel AWFUL. I'm alternatively apologizing profusely for misunderstanding her and trying to comfort her as we're plummeting toward what has to seem to her like deep, open water. By the end of the ride we're both shaking, sobbing, her from terror, me because I feel like the worst mom on the planet. Still, a year later, she will not let anyone pick her up when her favorite thing used to be being thrown around on the trampoline and being held to fly like an airplane.TL;DR: Couldn't hear and scarred my five year old for life by pulling her onto a water ride at an amusement park when she wanted ME to get OFF. Still feel like my mom card should be revoked every time I offer a hug and she says "please don't pick me up." Still suspect that she peed on me during the ordeal. via /r/tifu https://ift.tt/31xiUoH
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