DOH! Parenting

This weekend we took Jack to his first air show. We waited until nearly the last minute to tell him. it was a bit of a selfish move because we did not want to hear "Go air show" a million and one times before it was time to go.

In our selfishness, we forgot to prepare him for what an air show is. When I told him we were going to an air show after church, he said, "Pack suitcase. Fly on airplane." I could not help myself. I squealed in joyous laughter. He may not know what an air show is but he knows that you have to pack before you get on an airplane. I still get very excited about his ability to tell me what he is thinking.

Many people go to an air show to watch the planes do fancy air acrobatics. I did not think that Jack would really want to stand still long enough to watch the planes and I wasn't sure he could see them.

When we were at the air show, Dave boosted Jack up high on his shoulder to try to see the show and a very nice crew member at the air show tried to get us in the VIP gate for free so Jack could get a better look. It was only when the planes rocketed past and Jack did not turn to look

David tried really hard to get Jack to turn toward the sound of the planes.

that I thought "DOH! I should have showed him some YouTube videos of plane acrobatics!" so he would 1. know what to look for and 2. possibly be interested.

I thought that he would enjoy getting in and touching the airplanes on display. I was right!

It was still a great family afternoon and we were all very tired when we returned home but Jack still wanted to fly!

Am I the only mom that forgets to prepare her child for the utmost new event enjoyment? Feel free to share your own story and assuage some of my mommy guilt.