I cried

The other day, watching my kids play in the park, I had tears in my eyes.

Was it because I was sad to see how grown up they are getting? No.
Was it because of how sweetly they play together? No
Was it because one of them fell and broke their neck? No.

It was because Anne Marie went down the slide.

This picture, taken more than a year ago, was the last time I saw her go down the slide. See the look of fear in her eyes? Last week, she went, not once, but several times, and not just on the little slide, but the big, twisty tube slide as well. I was in tears.

From Zoo and Thomas 7 weeks

It seems ridiculous that I would be in tears. Kids go down slides all the time. But not my daughter — slides are one of her very long list of fears. Her fears include the skull toy at Costco, the dinosaur toy at the library, any stuffed animal that talks, swings, dust bunnies, walking into a pool by herself (even down the stairs), playlands in fast-food restaurants, jumpy castles, those Shrek watches that were recently in McDonald's happy meals and more.

My biggest fear is that she will be so afraid of things that she won't get to experience life. I know she's 3, and I'm probably being silly, but I think about it a lot. So, when one day out of the blue, I saw one fear crossed off her list, I was beyond ecstatic. I was also relieved. So I cried.

A few days later, she tried the small, little kids' waterslide at the pool, again without any prodding on my part. I asked her if she wanted to do it again, and she said, "no," but when I asked her if it was fun, she said, "yes."

I couldn't be more proud. :)