Bring On The Dancing Horses

I think I might've mentioned before that Luz is absolutely terrified of carousels. I am sure it is related to something Christian and I did or didn't do during her very early years that has resulted in this strange phobia and I sense that it probably ties in with her unfounded fear of rocking horses. Yes, rocking horses.

It is no secret that Luz does not have even a drop of "risk taker" in her blood and it can be a bit frustrating at times. I generally try to exercise patience but there are moments when all I can do is stare at her, mouth agape, stunned. It happened a week or two ago when she screamed because she almost "fell off" the one and a half foot, plush rocking horse in James' room, something that is not technically high enough for her to fall off of. It happened again last Saturday. I took Luz and James to the zoo for a few hours and at one point Luz worked up enough courage to get on the carousel, wanting to be part of James' first carousel experience (I doubt this was his first carousel experience but it was the first one that the two of us were a part of). I should've realized she was not up to the challenge when we circled the thing three times before she reluctantly settled on the giraffe (one of only two animals that does not move up and down). She insisted on being strapped in and insisted that I keep an arm around her which proved to be incredibly tricky while trying to balance James on the extremely tall, neighboring camel. James was in heaven and couldn't get enough of it. Luz screamed and cried the entire time, attracting the attention of everyone around us (including, quite incidentally, my Kindergarten teacher). I had no explanation and couldn't figure out how to fix the situation so I just let her scream and white-knuckle the non-moving pole. It was something.

After the terror of the carousel, she stuck to things that were more her speed. These are statutes, by the way, and are likely not designed to be climbed on by kids:



The most daring display was this jump and it made me smile. Baby steps:


James, on the other hand, was unstoppable, as usual:



I appreciate the differences, I really do, but there are moments when I wish I could get to the bottom of what makes her so scared of something that brings so much joy to other kids.