Do you remember those old Maury Povich shows where guests would come on the show and face their greatest fears? Sometimes it was tin foil, or bunnies, or gum? Very entertaining.
(If you have time, please watch this one, too...it was awesome!)
If only Maury was still on today (or is he still on?), I would have the perfect guest for a show entitled,
"People who have Weird Phobias of Everyday Things for No Reason"
and our special guest's name would be Brinley.
Now I love my daughter from the tips of her fingers and toes, but my sweet girl has iss. ues. Specifically when it comes to balloons. I wish I was kidding. She cannot look at them, talk about them, be in the same room with them--you name it. We are talking major trauma if balloons breach our inner circle. If someone is having a birthday party (or even if the word "party" is mentioned) the first words out of her mouth are, "Will there be balloons there?" Oh my Lanta! :) At first I thought it was just a phase and she would grow out of it, so I waited patiently...and kept waiting...and waiting. And before I knew it, two years had passed our phobia by.
In reality, it's not a big deal to live a balloon-free life. I, for one, am not fanatical about balloons. I don't make animals out of them on a daily basis or anything.
But there was a miracle in store for us today. And because of it, I realized that our balloon-free living was not all it was cracked up to be. I think maybe Venus and Mars aligned today or something similar. Here's why:
I took Braden to the grocery store while Brinley was at school, and did something I had been forbidden to do for years...I gave Braden a free HEB balloon. It was red. And as I watched my son repeatedly hit himself on the head with his red balloon and laugh hysterically over it, I felt a little guilty and sorry for the gipper. His whole life he has been deprived of the air-filled splendor that is a balloon and that is a sad, sad state of affairs for a little boy.
When Brinley got home I expected poop to hit the fan, but you would never believe it. There wasn't one tear shed. There was some nervous hemming and hawing, and circling of the balloon. But no meltdown. Her mother was freaking out...
To ensure that I really believed my daughter was possessed, she then took that nasty red balloon by the string and did the unthinkable: she held on to it!!! (What?) It was only a few minutes later before she asked me to TIE IT ON HER WRIST!!! (gasp!)
I was so proud of my little girl :)
So to all my Maury Pickle-Phobic friends out there, I want you to know there is hope...
26 comments:
I am so proud. Seriously. Tell everyone why the poor little gal is so freaked out by them. Because these mean little twins were popping balloons in her face when she was 2. It was very traumatic. And there was almost a beating happening for these two little twins by a protective aunt.
I actually remember that Brinley is freaked out by balloons. I am extremely proud of her. Just because no one else understands our fears doesn't mean they aren't real to us! Way to go kiddo!!!
yea for brinley! i know what an awesome thing it is to see your child overcome a fear. aubrey has had many many fears, some of which people just don't get and many that she still has. she has come a long way since she was little and only joey and i really know the extent of it. she was nervous around other people(wouldn't play with other kids at playgroup), scared of any bug(when it had just rained, i didn't dare go outside because the mosquitos would cause a HUGE meltdown), she is still afraid of any costumed character(even had a hard time with the disney princesses at disneyland who aren't even totally costumed), and is still nervous about dogs, big or small. poor kiddo.
I heart Maury Povich and yes it's still on! I'm so proud of Brinley and so happy for Braden that you guys are not balloon-free anymore!! What a happy day!PS- She looks so cute!
PS-I just barely got over my pickle phobia too:)
How in the h-e- double hockey sticks is that real? That is crazy. I can understand a bear, a serial killer, but a pickle? HUH?
Oh, poor Brinley getting balloon trauma from nasty little twins! That totally doesn't surpise me about her. I can just see her as a 2-year old being totally freaked out by those things. My Millie is a lot like your Brinley. Her phobia is a toilet flushing while she's on it. She's always SO uptight when she's sitting on the can. Also, she's deathly afraid of animals. If a dog comes near, she's up my back in less than a second. My Brin was scared to death of clowns for a while. So I think Brinley is normal, is what I'm saying, not to mention a total DOLL.
Oh she looks so cute with the red balloon. Hey she is a smart girl. Who knows what balloons are capable of. Making scary loud noises when they pop, shriveling up and becoming lodged in our throats. I am with her.;)
Well goodness I'm glad she is over her phobia of the balloon! She sure looks like a cutie in the picture holding it!
can she help Kameron overcome this same fear. Although his is not quit as bad, the poor child can't walk into a Red Robin without yelling very loudly "no balloons okay". So when his sisters get balloons he is freaking out and begging me not to let go of them nor to pop them, really why.
So yeah , and you have given me hope that one day my little one will come out of a red robin with a red balloon tied to his arm.
What a sweet ending to the trauma. She's a doll with her red balloon!
Yay for Brinley! It's so hard to understand when a child is so afraid of something as innocuous as a balloon -- but it's clear that their fear is real. Yay for you for protecting her till she could get past it. Love it!
what a brave girl! i guess all kids have their big fear. maya's is "shoo-flies". if a fly comes near her she screams as if she's being brutally stabbed. it's really nice.
Yay, she's sooo brave. Good for her!
awwww. that picture of her smiling makes ME smile. Only our kristi would tie Maury, tinfoil, pickles, and balloon phobias in to one cohesive (and oh so entertaining) post:)
yay for (adorable) Brinley:)!!
When I was little, my mom and I took a big bunch of balloons to a friend in the hospital. As she was getting them out of the car a couple touched the hot car in the high heat of a Texas summer and popped in her face. She still has a little scar and that has scarred me for life. Whenever we go some place and my girls get balloons, I always make them say goodbye before we get into the car. I understand her fear a bit. Luckily my hubby does not have this fear and occasionaaly the girls get to bring a balloon home. Yay Brinley for confronting a fear, and with such a pretty smile.
Okay the pickle issue for Mariah is a little concerning. I hate to say it but it sounds like maybe she was molested with a pickle? She's making me nervous watching her. And they are run around the studio after her with pickles? These shows are too much. Good job Brinley! Very good overcoming her fear. It actually sounds like it was just a phase. Perhaps a balloon popped in her face when she was young and it scared her.
Way to go Brinley. She's an example to us all! I have a slight phobia of balloons...eek! Don't tell anyone I said that. Oh crap, I just did. Balloons popping scare the crapola out of me! Yes, I know I'm a freak. But I'm so proud of Brinley. Maybe I need to be more like her.
Oh man. First of all, the way you present the whole balloon phobia cracks me up. Seriously, you have some writing talent! And the picture of Brinley, so happy with the HEB balloon, is adorable. Do you do her hair? Quite impressive.
How did I miss this post...I thought I had adequately stalked your blog each and every day! Love this story...see change can happen when we are least expecting it!
i just watched that cotton ball one. how mean of the maury show to have that guy dressed up as a cotton ball monster right after she was crying talking about her nightmares of that?! cruel! (yet i laughed, is that wrong?) :)
sorry that was me. this computer i'm using is a piece o crap. joey's working on the real one. anyways, it didn't show my comments posting and then all of the sudden there were like 4! oopsie.
Thanks for writing this.
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