I Was That Mom

With the crowds dying down a little, we've been using our Disneyland Season Passes more lately. Sometimes we've gone two to three times each week. But you can do that, when you live fifteen minutes away.

Last Thursday, my mom and I took Angry Toddler to Disneyland. We got there around 5pm. The park closed at 9pm. When we go to Disneyland, we let Angry Toddler make all of the ride choices. After all, it's his gig, let him pick. We went on The Jungle Cruise, The Haunted Mansion, and It's a Small World. He danced in Tomorrow Land. He got a Buzz Lightyear toy. Gotta love that birthday certificate that he received in May. I still had $20 left on it.

And then...it was time to leave.

We were walking down Main St. We peeked through the store windows as usual. Because there's no way we were going to actually take him in the store. This kid wants anything and everything. But he didn't even beg for a balloon like he usually does. Shocking, because now they even have Mickey-head shaped balloons that light up.

We hit almost the end of Main St. We are right by the Emporium. And then we have the "sit down". As a parent, you should know the sit down, by now. Where out of nowhere, their body goes limp, and they just sit down. The tears start to roll down. They become dead weight. He was fine two minutes ago. So I ask him, "what's wrong?" The tears and sniffles start. He replied, "I want to go on one more ride. I don't want to leave." I point to the crowd storming down Main St. and I nicely tell him, "Disneyland is closing soon. See everyone around us. They are leaving too. It's time to go home. And we are going on one more ride, the tram to the parking lot." He gets up and slowly starts walking. We go over to the Emporium because I wanted to look at the Halloween goodies. I should have known better. He lost it again by the sucker display. And this is what he had to say. "I NEVER get suckers, I NEVER get ANYTHING". Yea ok, I believe you had a churro about 30 minutes ago.

He turned into a limp bowl of jelly again. They my mom tried to pick him up. She even tried the under the armpit carry. My kid is heavy. He's like almost 45 pounds at 4 years old. He doesn't look that big, but the kid is solid. She couldn't get him up. I could see the anxiety starting. We finally made it out of the store and onto the tram. He sat down on the floor and would not sit on the seat. I was trying to fold the stroller and get onto the tram myself. My mom was persuading him to get up. He was not budging. So I then became that mom, at the "Happiest Place on Earth" in front of all the tourists. I screamed, "Sit up, sit up now. You will sit on the seat. The tram is leaving. Do you want it to leave without you? Because it will. Then you will have to walk back to the car." I said a few more words too, don't judge me, we've all been there. He finally got up. Once again, the tears were flowing. We made it to the car. Mr. Cranky was super tired, we get that. Yet the week before, we left Disneyland at 11pm. He was fine.

I got home and posted this as my Facebook Status:


I got (5) likes and 12 comments on that Facebook status. They were some of my favorite comments. Because as a parent, I think we've all BEEN THERE.

Lisa-"I know that look well...from the receiving end, of course."

Ruth-"I was that parent Feb 7, 2007 by the Pirates of Caribbean.. It was so horrible that date is etched in my mind.. I feel for you!"

Robin-"I was that parent last September at Walt Disney World. Food court in Land pavilion- sorry if I scared anyone! Someone decided to pitch a total melt down fit over..........Cheetos. I feel for you Julie!"

Amy-"End of July 2009 at 11:56pm...ALL the way down Main St...but mine was a 10 year old...that looks like she is 15. Good times."

I've had many moments like this as a parent of a four year old. I will have many more. Thankfully, I know that all the other parents out there understand. You've been there, done that, and will do it again!