Work In Progress: an anticlimactic event, six years in the making

an anticlimactic event, six years in the making

10 July 2011

july '06 ... miss harper was 16 months old. it was hot outside. she looked adorable in her little yellow swimsuit with luscious, chubby thighs sticking out. i found a sweet little elmo misting sprinkler and placed it in the yard. she was curious ...

but as soon as she felt that spray of water, she was out of there.

and that was that.

july '07 ... miss harper was nearly two and a half. it was hot outside. she had this adorable little lavendar swimsuit with a wee little skirt, and cute, chubby little thighs sticking out. and she adored her big brother and trusted him implicitly and followed him to the sprinkler.

but as soon as she felt that spray of water, she was out of there.

she returned only when the water was turned low enough to be drinkable and non-threatening.

july '08 ... miss harper was now nearly three and a half years old. she has a cute green swimsuit with butterflies on it, and the sweetest little buns you ever did see. she wants to follow her brother all day long and do everything he does. everything, that is, except the sprinkler.

as soon as she saw that spray of water, she was out of there. and spent the remainder of outside time standing by the front steps, not to get even remotely close to the sprinkler.

her beloved brother tried his hardest to convince her it was fun, but she wasn't having it.

july '09 ... miss harper was now nearly four and a half. she had a whole basket full of adorable swimsuits because she was taking swim lessons and has turned out to be quite the little fish. maybe ... just maybe ... this will be the summer that she runs through the sprinkler in a state of sheer bliss.

maybe not.

so we tried a new approach: the slip and slide. she loved the idea, but when she saw the sprinkler, the trepidation returned.

she tried again ...

and we pounced. henry laid down on the slide and told her he'd give her a ride. still wary of the sprinkler, she had her own idea for how to make this all okay ...

when it was determined that the ability to slide without the mat wasn't going to fly for henry, harper gave up. and that was that.

july '10 ... miss harper was now nearly five and a half years old. at a friend's house. in a borrowed swimsuit. and finally, under peer pressure to just have fun already, she allowed herself to get wet by a hose.

there was still no running and leaping through a spray of icy water ...