Brave Little Toaster
June 08, 2012
Once upon a time, I was the mother of a little boy who was scared of the bathtub. Who was scared of so, so many things.
He wanted to be brave. He tried to be brave. But when your brain sends you into fight-or-flight mode over the sound of a nearby lawnmower, or the feel of grass on your bare feet, it's hard to brave. It's hard to try new things when you can't process them, when you can't articulate what you're even afraid of, when you can't work those new things out to their logical conclusion.
Even when the logical conclusion is: This is supposed to be fun, dammit.
"I know what that is!" he said, pointing at the rental snorkel gear. "It lets you breathe underwater! Can I try it?"
Uhh. Okay? Sure. Yes.
The thing is, if we'd asked or offered, he probably would have said "NO." And that's okay. We've finally figured out how to sit back and wait for him to ask. To surprise us.
And to always say "yes" when he does, even if it scares us, a little.
Way to go, Noah. You're officially and for-real the bravest kid I know.
BONUS:
!
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!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I cried the day Chipmunk jumped into a vat of foam blocks at the gym. This stuff is such a big deal, dude. Go Noah go!
Also, holy water slide, Batman. We're not quite there yet.
This is encouraging, mine is currently terrified of hand dryers. The looks I get in the bathroom...
Go Noah Go! He is so brave :)
Also? I want to go to there!
Wow. WTG NOAH!!!
Go Noah! This is awesome, I'm sure you're so proud!
Also, to reassure myself that I wasn't crazy and misremembering, I went back and found your post from Jamaica, Feb 2010, when Noah start the trip afraid to go in the water at all.
Also, looking at those photos was like "Oh hi Ezra, Hi Baby Ike. Where's Noah? Oh wait...."
Congratulations on being brave enough as parents to learn to step back until Noah steps up to do things. That, in itself, is super scary. Go Noah. Go Storch family. You are doing an awesome job.
Noah is amazing. Go be brave little one!
I have to say - your pictures of Aruba are making me miss it SO much! I can't wait until our daughter is old enough to enjoy swimming in the ocean or playing on the beach.
Wonderful pictures of wonderful adventures.
Go Noah! I basically had a panic attack the first two times I tried to go snorkeling... in my 20s! (I finally got the hang of it... calm waters helps.) I'm super impressed when ANY kid is fearless enough to try it.
That's fantastic! I'm an almost-31-year-old-woman who is completely terrified of snorkeling. I've done it but still had trouble managing the breathing. Or forcing my mind to not freak out when my mouth was under water and I was still able to take in air, not water. So GOOD FOR NOAH!
Go, Noah!! :D
that's awesome, go noah!
So, so awesome! Way to go Noah!
Awesome Noah!
This made me tear up. So awesome!
Aah that made me cry! He's an absolute superstar!
--happy tears--
I'm all choked up and misty-eyed. GO NOAH! And GO YOU for helping him to reach this point.
HOLY CARP!
Mom, you and Dad done good.
Oh yeah, Noah's done good, too. ;-)
xoxoxoxoxoxo
But haven't you ever seen Groundhog Day!? You NEVER throw toasters in the water!
I'm so excited to see my own daughter grow up to make brave decisions without me feeling like I need to prompt her every step of the way. I'm sure it'll be a little excruciating for me, but I'll have to live with that.
He's so awesome. He's come a long way!
OMG the SLIDE!!! He went in the SLIDE!!! And the snorkeling! Noah, you are so inspiring without even knowing it. The happy tears at work are flowing and I'm pretty sure it can't all be blamed on the pregnancy hormones. So amazing! :)
You guys live somewhere in MoCo, yes? (Does anyone actually call it that?)
Your boys might be interested in the Gaithersburg water park. It's in our new neighborhood and my husband I went for the first time recently. Tons of stuff for kids.
That is the best. Go Noah!
That is some good great stuff, right there :)
Aaahh! That made me cry. He's so awesome.
Feeling a little teary, here. So happy for that sweet boy!
Tears
Noah = WINNING! (duh)
Holy crap! He did the snorkeling... and the water slide! OK, yeah, that's brave. I'm not talking "brave for a kid with dyspraxia", though it is. I'm talking plain old brave for any kid his age. My kids are both older and both afraid of those water slides with tops. Nice work, all!
Oh dear - the photo of him jumping off the dock made me tear up. YOU ROCK NOAH!
That is awesome :D .
Yay for Noah, I'm more and more impressed by him Everytime I read about how well he's doing x
Hurrah for Noah! Totally made me tear up.
YAY NOAH!!!
My older daughter was similarly sensitive in the sensory way and it still takes my breath away to see her swim! In the WATER! With her FACE WET! While kids around her scream and she doesn't care! WHO IS THIS KID???
It all gives me hope for the remaining issues. If those can resolve with time and support, hopefully the others will, too.
Go Noah!!! That's awesome!
That is fantastic! Mine performed in her first dance performance (at age 10) this year after years of anxiety because she couldn't do it like the other kids because of her motor planning issues. Intensive integrative therapy really helped.
This is wonderful.
GO NOAH! I'm totally jealous of the waterslides.
This gives me hope (and, predictably, made me tear up). My son, who is Ezra's age, is similar in many ways to Noah. So many sensory issues, so many IEP meetings, so many meltdowns. Baths. Nail-cutting. Sensory overload at the playground. At the store. At a birthday party (he doesn't get shy and want to go home; he gets AMPED and loses his EVERLOVING SHIT). My sweet boy. Your sweet boy.
Breathtaking!
Way to go, Noah! He has made such strides & it is so wonderful to get to cheer him on from afar. Knowing when to push & when to let them figure it out on their own has been one of the hardest things about parenting for me. So, way to go to you too!
Wow! Tears. I'm so happy for Noah and for all of you. Just wow! Snorkel gear is SCARY!!! Good for him!
Oh, Noah. You fill my heart with joy (and hope for our future, too).
This made me smile SO big.
Yeah for a kid to be afraid of the water and in two years be the kid who jumps off a pier into open water to go snorkeling, that is amazing.
Congratulations on being the outstanding parents we all knew you were. :)
Hurray, Hurray, HURRAY! (Did you cry, later on? Because it totally made me want to cry, and I only know stories about him.)
Yay Noah!
yay!!!!! so thrilled for you and him!
(i too just managed to learn to snorkel last year without freaking the eff out. i'm 37)
I'm a total scaredy cat! And learning to breathe through a snorkel is terrifying stuff! Good for him!
Yay, Noah! You are awesome and give me hope that my non-sensory child will one day get her face wet.
This is so awesome I can hardly stand it. Go, Noah!!!!!
Bravo to you both!
Holding my breath at the thought of it ut clapping at the same time because yes, just, wow.
Noah FTW!
Clearly, the force is with him .... Bravo !!
Yay, Noah! And also: forget the ocean, I want to play in that water park. How cool is that!
That rocks so hard! Good job, Noah!
High five, Noah!
I want to go to there!
Thanks for this. It really is uplifting, especially after a particularly exhausting weekend. week. month.
Super LIKE, times one thousand. Good for you, Noah!
Super LIKE, times one thousand. Good for you, Noah!
Your posts about Noah's progress and "small" victories make me heart-happy. So happy for you and your family. GO, NOAH! :)
Teared up over here. Awesome job Noah!