Yesterday we went to Cox Farm in Northern Virginia with our extended family. Good times. Good times. They had unlimited apple cider. I drank 12 cups!

We fed goats and went on a hayride. They had a rope swing. But the highlight was the giant slide. In fact, I had a flashback. The last time I went down a giant slide in a gunny sack was the Minnesota State Fair as a kid.

Bottom line: Josiah was scared of the slide. Granted, when you’re half as tall as your dad the slide probably looks twice as big. So Josiah boycotted the slide, but it was killing me because I knew how much fun he was forfeiting! And my job as a father is to help my kids face their fears. So finally at the end of the day, Josiah went down the slide as I held him tight. Guess what? It was hard to get him to leave. He wanted to ride the slide over and over again!

Afterwards I said to Josiah, “You wouldn’t have had all of that fun if you hadn’t faced your fears!” I told him I wanted him to remember this experience so we came up with a little motto: remember the slide. I’m really trying to help Josiah face his fears!

No fear = No fun.

We forfeit so much fun because we allow our fears to keep us at bay!

PS–I did have 12 cups of apple cider but they were dixie cups!