In late December, we took Ruby sledding. Although she liked being out in the snow, she hated the sledding. Seeing anyone sliding down the hill upset her, and of course she didn’t want a turn.
Beginning on the car ride home, though, we engaged in some revisionism and began talking about how much FUN it was. Didn’t you have a really great time sledding, Ruby? Remember when we went sledding down the hill and it was so much fun? We kept this up for a few days until she firmly remembered it differently than it had actually happened.
It was another month and a half before we went sledding again (not counting a failed attempt where I forgot our gear). This time, Ruby was excited and not at all apprehensive. Even so, we were surprised by how brave she was. Not only would she ride down the hill with us, but by the end she was happily sledding all by herself! Even falling off at the bottom didn’t deter her. See for yourself:
Due to her small size, she went faster and farther than we did on the sled, and it also made walking back up the hill much easier (since she could walk on top of the snow crust, while we sunk deeply in). All in all, it really WAS fun the second time around.
