Fear Itself

Well, here is something I've always thought about, but never really believed until I experience the last 24 hours......
Are we born with the ability to fear or is this something we learn? I often believe that my son isn't afraid of anything....until he sees fear in my eyes. As a mom it can be so hard to stay calm and collected or even just to keep a happy face. My son is part sponge and part elephant. He soaks up everything and doesn't forget any of it! I always try to act brave because I knows if he sees that I'm scared...he will remember that this is something to be scared of.
We wen't to words of fun yesterday. Before going, we knew he was finally big enough to ride a big rollercoaster....the Spinning Dragon. We had him so excited about it! He couldn't wait to get there and ride it. When we got it line, I'm sure he senced that I was nervous, maybe his dad too. He suddenly decided that he didn't want to do this and he started to put up a fight. Doug and I basically told him that he was going to do it. He was apprehensive getting on and once we came down the first big hill he almost started to cry. Then he heard the calm in Dougs voice when he said "It's almost over." Dawson opened his eyes and started to enjoy the rest of the ride. I really believe that we learn a lot from our parents.

Dawson's First Roller Coaster
"The Spinning Dragon"