The Light at the End of the Tunnel

We begin this week's entry with our home school field trip to H2 Oasis yesterday.  Thanks to the brave men and women who served as our indoor Baywatch Crew, we were able to enjoy the only indoor water slide in Alaska!  It is crazy to remember that it has been nearly 13 years or more since our first visit with Alex and Andrew to the Oasis.  Time truly is "but a vapor," and reliving H2 Oasis took us back to Alex and Andrew's boyhood days.  What a blessing to have Ethan now, too - reliving vicariously - some of the same memories his brothers have shared.

The Oasis has 3 large slides, 1 medium sized slide, and a pirate ship full of slides for toddlers.  They also boast a large wave pool, two jacuzzis for the adults, a fully stocked snack bar, and a lazy river that weaves under and through all of the attractions.  In the winter, they open their doors for half price every other month on a Monday, just for home schoolers! So away we went from 10-4 to frolic in the water and give Ethan his first waterslide experience.

Waterslide #1

He immediately hit the wave pool and the Lazy River -- although the term "lazy river" is wasted on anyone under the age of 16 (and Michael).  So much swimming, splashing, chasing, flipping and pushing tubes into each other!  I, on the other hand, just sat in my little tube -- all the way around -- and watched them wear themselves out early!  Ethan realized right away that he was "too big" for the pirate ship, but he was ready to go with his daddy to that first water slide.  It was a medium-sized enclosed tube that spiraled once before plummeting into 3 feet of warm water.  True to his nature, he let his daddy go first, so he could be met at whatever awaited at the bottom.  We didn't tell him that the lifeguards clear the pool for safety reasons before the next rider.  As he hit the water at the bottom of the slide, he IMMEDIATELY stood up, walked out of the pool, and said, "I think I'll do that again! This time with mom!"

So he and I ascended the stairs to take our plunge.  He went first this time, so he could show me "how to do it."  Now keep in mind, I absolutely LOVE water parks, but it has been nearly 13 years or more since I've been to one.  I had no trepidation whatsoever about getting on that water slide -- until about 1/4 of the way in when the total darkness surrounded me.  For those of you that know me best, you'll remember that I like dark roller coasters the best -- because I can't see what's coming.  Not so with dark water slides -- because there's WATER waiting throughout it and at the bottom and yours truly is a bit of a claustrophobe!  So as I made my big splashing entry into the pool and came up into daylight once more, Ethan was waiting -- all smiles -- ready to go again -- this time with both of us.  He asked me how I liked it.  I told him, "Son, I've got to be honest. That was a little scary for me.  The darkness was creepy, so I just shut my eyes and waited to hit the water."  To my surprise (which I don't know why I'm surprised...the Lord uses him daily to teach me things)... he uttered the words of wisdom I needed for the day: "Mom, you have to keep your eyes really wide open.  Only then will you see the light at the end of the tunnel and know that you are almost there."  Hmmm, pretty smart advice from a 10 year old.

Last Leg of the Master Blaster

We played there for while then had a quick pizza lunch in the snack bar before hitting the "big ones."  It was then my turn to do some convincing -- carrying a 2-person tube up a flight of 50 stairs is no small feat, and surely several sudden drops await after a climb like that.  So Ethan decided he would take on the Master Blaster the very first time with his mommy - you know, the one he talked into doing the "little dark slide."  Once positioned on the tube, the life guard opens the chute, and the two of you have to pull yourselves to the first drop off. And away we went!  Into the darkness, then into the light, then D-O-W-N the big drop (which causes you to go airborne just a tad!), then up into the open chute, then down and around the dark spiral (which dumps a LOAD of water on top of you...in the DARK!), then down the final drop into...wait for it...the lazy river!!! Yay for a slow ride in the lazy river back to the beginning!

Master Blaster Ride with Michael and Ethan

Well only one of those kinds of rides will never do...so we spent the next 2 1/2 hours on the Master Blaster and in the Lazy River.  That is, until Ethan decided that he wanted to venture off on his own.
Wait a minute, I'm sorry, what?  Am I ready for that? We are at a huge water park with other people (lots of other people by now), and you want to do what by yourself? And you'll meet us where, when? Wait! I'm not ready!  But HE was. And in that one parenting moment, our 10-year-old took one step closer to independence.

How often do we find ourselves in similar moments in life -- times when changes occur and we are not ready -- yet they occur nonetheless?  Perhaps it is a parenting moment like mine.  Perhaps it is a new diagnosis. Perhaps it is when that infant takes her first step into toddler-hood.  Perhaps it is when your adult child needs you again. Perhaps it is the passing of a loved one from this life into the next.

Whatever your moment, I hope you will remember that it is just a vapor.  Yet in that vapor, whether great pain or great joy, I urge you to be present.  In the midst of a glorious day on the water slides, there was an intermingling of pride and sadness at our little Ethan (who reminded me boldly he wasn't so little anymore).  But I didn't miss it...I was there and I saw it...because someone wise once told me to keep my eyes really wide open -- only then could I see the Light.

Today's post is dedicated to the Newton Family,
specifically to Uncle Kenny,
who kept his eyes wide open and finally reached the Light at the end of the tunnel.
Praise the Lord we are assured of his salvation, that he is no longer in pain,
and that we WILL one day see him again.

"For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again,
even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him."
I Thessalonians 4:14