Water Spark

I am at Kid’s Camp this week, helping out with whatever they need me to do. Today was the day we took them all to the water park. Now I know in most people’s minds that would make you think of some really cool, fun place that has super pools, slides, and other fun water activities, but this is India.

First, we took a bus to the water park. This was about an hour long drive, down many one lane roads that have cows laying in the middle of them. Winding around blind corners. Squeezing by cars that have to pull their side mirror in to get by us. Just bumping along the mountain roads trying to find the way to the park.

When we arrived, the park wasn’t quite open for business yet. The parking lot was empty. It looked like a ghost water park, meaning it had gone out of business 10 years ago. Then the doors opened and we all went in. It was still quite a disappointment to look at. The slides looked rickety, the water was greenish and a bit slimy, and there was no place to sit. But the kids were so excited. I even heard someone say, “This is awesome!”

I have a fear of water. I didn’t want to go to the water park, but I was guilted into it. I tried to have fun, but there wasn’t even a pool just to stand around in. I went over to the kiddie area and rode down a small slide. The floor of the pool was so slimy that it was hard to stand up at the end of the slide. And then we saw a frog swimming in the pool. That was a high-light for some.

I am scared of the water slides too. But I decided to go with Micah down one of them, just to have a good attitude. I forgot to hold my nose at the end and ended up with a brain enema. Now I know to hold my nose. The kids loved the slides! Micah thought it was great.

With the water park there were amusement park rides. Again, if you can imagine a very old, rundown park, you are getting close to imagining what it looked like. There was one of those swing rides which is fun. I road on it with Micah. Several of the older kids thought it was fun to stand under the swings as they went around and then jump and high-five the kid on the swing. There was a safety fence, but it was too close to the swings, so the kids could stand under them when they were going fast. I think the fear of the rides adds to the rush and excitement.

Later some of the kids told us their story of the roller coaster. Apparently the operator couldn’t get it started. It went a little ways forward and then rolled back again. So he had the kids get out, kind of shake the cars back on the track, and PUSH IT! Then they jumped back in once it got going. When it came to the end, the operator couldn’t get it to stop, so they kept going until it slowed down by momentum. The final hill they stopped and rolled back down and came to a rest. All I have to say is ... Why did the kids get back in????

Another long ride home, starting to feel car sick.

All and all, I would rate the day a 3 on a scale of 1 to 10. But the kids all thought it was a 10! So the day was a success. I will never go again, but I will gladly send Micah with the kids camp next year. Much cheaper than Disneyland and just as fun for him.

So what did I learn? What was the spark? The spark was learning that I have a bad attitude. I need to kill the attitude like a weed that is growing in my life. Dig it out from the roots. I need to learn to see the positive and not focus on the negative. I have looked too close to find what is wrong around me instead of what is right. Like at the water park, I could have seen it with a positive perspective and noticed that all the rides were working, all the pools were open, the kids were having a great time, and I wasn’t all hot and sweaty. But because of my rotten attitude, the day wasn’t fun for me. So next time I have the opportunity to go to the water park, I won’t go. But if I ever “have to” go, I will work at having a better outlook on the day.