Trip to the Fair – Part 6
By Teekabell – 2003
Julie asked a tough question, is she a big girl. Susan took a deep breath and attempted to get more information to help her answer Julie’s question, “What do you mean princess?”
“Mommy, big girls don’t go pee-pee and poopy in their panties, do they?”
“Well,” Susan hesitated. She wanted to tell Julie that big girls use the potty not their panties, but Julie was a big eight year old girl who still wet and pooped her panties. This wasn’t going to be easy. “Even eight year olds still have accidents.”
“Am I a baby?”
Susan smiled at Julie, “You will always be Mommy’s baby girl, and Harvey will always be Mommy’s baby boy. Even though you are Mommy’s baby girl, you are a big eight year old.”
“But big eight year olds sleep in big girl beds and wear big girl panties.”
“Julie,” Susan melted. “You are a big girl. Your bed it Julie size, and the diapers are to help you until you can always get all your pee-pee and poopy in the potty.”
“Everyone thinks I am a baby.”
“Well, not many eight year olds wear diapers. Only special big girls need to still wear diapers during the day.” Susan had a side thought that if Larry heard her say this, his response would be; yeah, special is right, retarded eight year olds. Susan tried to keep this thought out of her mind. She knew Julie wasn’t retarded, and other eight year olds wore diapers, those with medical problems. “When someone mistakes you for a baby, we just need to nicely tell them you are a big girl.”
Julie cuddled up to mommy. “Do I have to be a big girl?”
This was what Susan was waiting for. Now she knew what Julie was feeling and what she really wanted. “Of course not honey. If you want to be a big girl, that is okay, but if you want to be a little girl, that is okay too.”
Julie smiled as she hugged Mommy, “Thanks Mommy.” She kissed her, squirmed out of Mommy’s arms and went running off to the jungle gym.
Susan sat on the bench watching Julie. All her bouncing around, climbing and sliding down slides continuously showed off her diapers. Julie however, was carefree. She no longer seemed concerned about the diapers showing. Even Susan had to admit, she looked like a three year old running around the park.
After Lunch, they made a quick trip back to the car for a diaper change and then Julie wanted Mommy to push her on the swings. As they approached the swings, with Julie skipping along side holding Mommy’s hand, Susan saw three different styles of swings; baby swings, toddler swings, and regular swings. She looked down at Julie wondering which swing to put her in. Susan thought to herself that this would be the first test, to see if Julie wants to be a big girl or a little girl. Usually she would not go near the baby or toddler seats, even though she could fit in both.
“Go pick a swing princess.”
Julie went running off toward the swings. She hesitated for a moment looking back to Mommy. Then she slowly walked over to the toddler swings.
“Can I go on this one Mommy?”
“Of course you can princess,” Susan said as she went up to the swing and undid the medal chain on it.
As the afternoon went on, Julie was definitely falling into the role of a toddler. She never got very far away from her Mommy and would continuously run back to Mommy after doing little things like sliding down the slide.
Julie started to slow down in her playing. She was struggling with an issue she wasn’t sure how to deal with. She had to poop. She had used the diaper for wetting several times already today, but this was different. Mommy put me in a diaper. Mommy said it was okay to be a little girl, but was it okay to poop in a diaper? Everyone thinks I’m a baby and babies poop in their diaper. But . . . but I’m not a baby. Am I?
Susan saw Julie slowing down and misinterpreted the situation. She figured her little girl was getting tired after a long rough day. Susan gathered up the supplies and walked up behind Julie. Without thinking, Susan did something she had not done to Julie for several years. She just picked Julie up without giving Julie any warning. This is commonly done with babies, but not 8 year olds. It startled Julie, causing Julie’s question to no longer be an issue. Julie pooped her diaper as her mom was picking her up. This caused Julie to start crying. Again Susan misinterpreted the situation. She thought Julie was crying because Mommy wouldn’t let her keep playing.
Susan was so busy trying to calm Julie down that she was almost at the car before she realized Julie had a poopy diaper. It surprised her. Although she expected Julie to stop using the toilet for pee-pee, a fully loaded diaper was a shock. Taking a deep breath, recalling the little bit of poop when the diaper was put on, and Julie’s question of whether she had to be a big girl, allowed Susan to calm down. She had put Julie in a diaper and diapers were for poopy as well as pee-pee. Although Susan didn’t like changing poopy diapers, if her baby girl needed to go back to using diapers before growing up, she could deal with it for a little bit.
After changing Julie’s diaper, Susan decided it was time to go home and face the issues. She figured if Julie was fully pooping her diaper, then she was comfortable enough with her diapers to face Dad and Harvey. The trip home was uneventful and very quiet. Both of them were thinking about the day. Julie was trying to figure out if she was a baby or an almost nine year old. Susan was trying to figure out how she was going to explain all of this to her loving husband Larry.
Trip to the Fair – Part 7
By Teekabell – 2003
When they got home, Julie went into the family room and sat down to watch TV with Harvey. Susan pulled Larry aside to explain the developments of the day.
“Diapers . . . . She even had poopy diapers?” Larry commented. He wasn’t sure about all of this. Eight year olds are not supposed to be in diapers. “Did you have to put her in a diaper?”
“Well, we were at the grocery store when she wet her pants, and they don’t sell panties there. She had used up all the spare clothes in the car earlier in the week,” Susan said in a defensive mode. “This was the second time in just a couple of hours that she had wet her pants. What else could I have done?”
“Well . . . . Well, I guess you are right, but she’s eight years old.”
“Yeah, but she isn’t acting like it.”
“But in DIAPERS?” Larry questioned. “What about Pull-Ups?”
“Do you remember toilet training the kids?” Susan said with wide eyes. “I am not going through the hassle of Pull-Ups for a kid who isn’t using the toilet at all. It is easier to deal with Pull-Ups with a girl in dresses and skirts, but why bother with the hassle. When she starts using the toilet again, we will switch to Pull-Ups. When they were little, we said three days in clean and dry diapers before switching to the training pants. Since they have to come to us to use a toilet while in a diaper, it is harder to keep a diaper clean and dry than Pull-Ups. The approach worked great when the kids were little, I don’t see any reason to change it now.”
“How much are we going to treat her like a baby and how much like an eight year old?”
“When it comes to toileting issues, we treat her like a two year old,” Susan said. “In the rest of her life, have her take the lead.”
Larry was not sure about all of this. His oldest child, eight years old, was back in diapers acting like a baby. His youngest child, finally out of diapers day and night, was acting more like a big brother than the baby of the family.
Susan went to get Harvey and after seeing Julie wrapped up in her baby blanket sucking her thumb, she told Harvey to go see Daddy. Susan then went to get Julie her pacifier, since it was better for her teeth and easier to break the kid of the habit. When she returned to the family room, she just took Julie’s hand out of her mouth and stuck the pacifier in without interrupting her viewing. Julie was unfazed by all of this; she just started sucking on her pacifier. Susan then went to join Harvey and Larry in the other room.
Larry and Susan sat Harvey down and tried to explain to Harvey about the changes with Julie. They tried to get him to understand that Julie was upset about him getting a big bed and getting to go to bed without diapers. They talked about Harvey being bigger than Julie, but Julie being older. Larry and Susan both seemed to feel that Harvey understood these concepts. Then came the hard part, they started to explain how Julie was going to be wearing diapers all the time because of the potty accidents she was having. They explained to Harvey that his big sister wasn’t sure she wanted to be a big kid, so she is pretending to be a little kid.
“Am I the big brother now?” Harvey asked as he tried to understand all of this.
Larry and Susan made it perfectly clear that he was still the little brother. He was not to treat Julie like a little sister or baby. He was to let Mommy and Daddy deal with Julie. If he teased Julie or made her upset, he would be in trouble. There was a lengthy discussion until both Susan and Larry felt Harvey understood. When they all finally went back into the family room, Julie was asleep on the couch, sucking happily on her pacifier.
Larry stopped and looked at his little girl. After a few minutes, he went over and picked her up. Susan followed them as Larry carried Julie back to her bedroom. As Larry was tucking her into bed, he had to admit she did look like a preschooler laying there sucking on her pacifier and hugging the teddy-bear he handed her.
“Susan honey,” Larry asked? “Is this the right thing to do?”
“Before I answer that question dear,” Susan started. “Take a look and see if her diaper is wet or not.”
Larry did check her diaper and it was wet. He tucked her back in under the quilt and turned to Susan. “Okay I get your point.”
Over the next few days, Larry and Susan found Julie falling into the role of a baby in all parts of the day. She even wanted to be fed her food on occasion. Bibs, sippy cups for all drinking, and having her hands and face cleaned up was now a regular part of meals. Toys Harvey and Julie had stopped playing with years ago were now Julie’s main entertainment. Her teddy bear was by her side at least 50 percent of the time she was awake.
One night Larry turned to Susan after the kids had gone to bed and asked if she wanted a break tomorrow.
“I took a vacation day tomorrow so we could all go to the county fair,” Larry said smiling at Susan.
“Can we afford for you not to work and a trip to the fair?”
“Well, tomorrow is Diaper Days at the fair. Julie may be eight years old, but she will definitely pass as a toddler still in diapers, especially if you dress her in the right outfit.”
“Are you sure you want to do this Larry?”
“No. I still think it is strange having an eight year old daughter in diapers who is acting like a baby. However, it has been a very stressful time around here lately for everyone and a little break is needed. Anyways, maybe it will help.”
“What do you mean?” Susan inquired.
“Well, it was big girl Julie who wanted to go to the fair. Maybe . . . . .” Larry paused and took a deep breath. “Maybe the trip will bring back some of that big girl, even if she is going as a baby.”
Susan smiled and went over to cuddle up with Larry on the couch. “I love you Larry.”
Trip to the Fair – Part 8
By Teekabell – 2003
The next day Susan found a strange pleasure in dressing Julie in the most babyish outfit she could find in Julie’s collection. The final touch to the outfit was attaching a pacifier with a clip. She would never be mistaken for being younger than 3 years old due to her size, but based upon previous experiences and Julie’s current behavior, Susan was sure people would perceive her more as a baby than a preschooler. No one, however, would think she was actually 8 years old.
At breakfast Mom and Dad broke the news to the kids that they were going to the fair today. Harvey was clearly excited, but Julie became quiet and passive. As the morning progressed and preparation for the trip continued, Susan and Larry started to get concerned over Julie’s behavior and the fact that she hadn’t even said one word since the news. Originally it was Julie that wanted to go to the fair, but now she appeared sad and depressed over the trip.
Susan and Larry tried to figure out why Julie was acting this way, but light was not shed until a diaper change later in the morning. Susan was cleaning Julie up from a poopy diaper when Julie finally spoke.
“Mommy,” Julie said in a very little baby voice. “Do I have to be a big girl to go to the fair?”
Susan had to hold back a giggle at this question. Here she was changing her daughter’s poopy diaper, and she was asking if she had to be a big eight year old to go to the fair. Susan didn’t think Julie could grow up that much, that fast, even if she tried. Although Susan would never tell her daughter they needed Julie to be a baby for the trip, it did make the question a little more humorous. Obviously Julie wanted to go to the fair but feared she couldn’t if she was acting like a baby. Susan was torn about what to say next. Although she wanted Julie to grow up and act her age again, she needed Julie to be a baby for the trip so they could afford it.
“You can go to the fair as a big girl or a little girl.” Susan said as she continued to clean Julie up.
At hearing Mommy’s comments, Julie relaxed a little. She wasn’t ready to be a big eight year old again. She knew she had to go back to being one before the summer was over, but she wasn’t ready.
“Do you want to be a big girl again?” Susan asked her daughter.
“Not yet.”
“Do you like being a baby girl?”
Julie just smiled.
“You know Julie, there are nice things about being a big girl.”
Julie smiled again. She didn’t really know why she liked being a baby, but she did and didn’t want to give it up.
“On your birthday, do I need to get a cake for a nine year old or a two year old?” Susan said it jokingly, but she seriously questioned this. Julie’s birthday was only two months away and at this point she wasn’t sure if she should buy presents for a two year old or a nine year old.
Julie giggled, “Your silly Mommy. Me turn 9.” For the rest of the diaper change Julie was quiet.
Susan and Julie found Larry and Harvey in the garage digging out the stroller for the trip.
“Look Julie! Look!” Harvey said as they walked into the garage. “We found the crib and highchair. It was right next to the stroller. Daddy’s putting the stroller in the car for you to ride in at the fair. Do you want Daddy to get the highchair and crib out too?”
Larry and Susan looked at each other with a bit of worry. Harvey had done it again. He had opened his mouth and said the wrong thing. They were hoping Julie would grow up, and a crib and highchair were not a step in the correct direction. They both knew she would fit in the crib since she was currently sleeping on her crib mattress, and the highchair would most likely fit her just fine. Neither of them wanted Julie to say “yes”, but how would they respond if she did?
Julie looked at Mommy, looking for approval before she dared answer. Babies had cribs and highchairs. Would Mommy and Daddy let her be a real baby? Did she really want to be a real baby? “Mommy?” Julie asked in typical baby fashion, looking for Mommy to answer the question for her.
Susan looked to Larry. He rolled his eyes, waved his hands in a whatever fashion, and went back to putting the stroller in the back of the car. Susan looked down at Julie. “You can if you want to dear.”
Julie did not respond, she just snuggled up next to Mommy. Susan gave Larry a quizzical look; this wasn’t a yes or a no. Was that a good sign? She wasn’t sure how to interpret it. Larry smiled, he was happy she didn’t just say yes. That meant there was a chance she was ready to grow up, or at least she didn’t want to be too much of a baby.
Susan didn’t want to push the issue, so she decided to change the topic quickly before Harvey insisted on an answer.
“Okay kids, who is going to help Mommy make sandwiches for a picnic?”
“Me, Me, Me.” Julie and Harvey responded in unison as they raced for the kitchen.
A picnic lunch was packed, kids were covered with suntan lotion, a very babyish looking diaper bag was packed, Harvey had gone potty, Julie had a clean dry diaper on, Julie and Harvey were strapped into their car seats, and each had a sippy cup of water to drink on the trip to the fair. As Larry turned on the car, he looked back at the kids and then over to Susan.
“If anyone wants to change their mind, now is the time to let me know. We don’t have to go to the fair if you don’t want to.” Larry said in a very sarcastic voice.
“To the Fair! To the Fair! To the Fair!” The kids started and Susan joined in.
“Okay,” Larry said as he backed the car out of the driveway. “If you all insist, we will go to the fair.”
Trip to the Fair – Part 9
By Teekabell – 2003
It was about a thirty minute drive to the fair. They found a parking space and quickly set about preparing for the day. Diaper bag and picnic lunch were stowed away in the stroller. Larry grabbed Harvey’s hand and Susan grabbed Julie’s as they started toward the entrance.
“Me ride in stroller?” Julie inquired in her best baby talk.
Susan looked down at Julie. She had been a baby for several days now, but this was their first trip out of the house since that first day. She was going to let Julie take the lead today in the level of babying she was going to get. This was the first step in determining how Julie would be acting all day. Susan lifted Julie into the stroller and strapped her in, with Julie’s smile getting bigger with each second. As she was doing up the straps, Julie put her thumb in her mouth. Susan quickly took it out and replaced it with the pacifier that was pinned to her outfit.
As they approached the ticket stand, Susan wondered if they would be able to get the benefits of the Diaper Days. She knew Larry was an honest man, and she wondered how he would deal with this deception.
“One child and one adult, and one set for Diaper Days.” Larry said pulling out his wallet.
The lady in the ticket stand peered over the counter down at Julie. “My, she is a cute little thing, but . . . .”
She was interrupted by Julie, “Ffffeee – p! Ffffeeee – p!” She said through her pacifier. Susan and Larry looked around for the sheep they were all hearing, but didn’t see any.
“The sheep are behind the ticket stand,” the ticket lady said. “My little one still does pacifier talk too. It is a language in and of itself. Eventually, they will take the pacifier out to talk, but I think it is cuter when they talk through the pacifier.”
“Her brother gave up the pacifier at a much earlier age. We were hoping she would have by now, but it looks like it will be a while before she’s ready to give it up,” Larry said looking affectionately down at his daughter.
“Well, she is obviously diapered, so that will be . . .”
Susan didn’t hear anymore of the transaction, she had to turn her attention to Julie. The excitement over the sheep, had Julie trying to get out of the stroller. She hadn’t unfastened the straps, so the stroller was at risk of tipping over. Susan calmed her down and settled her back down into the stroller. In the process, she refastened the snaps around Julie’s crotch which had come undone.
Susan and Julie got the special yellow Diaper Day wrist pass, while Harvey and Larry had green wrist passes. Julie thought the girls got yellow and boys got green. Once everyone had there pass on they headed for the gate.
“ffffeeeeep pwheeeees mommmy” Julie said through her pacifier.
The first stop was the barns. They saw sheep, cows, emus, horses, pigs, and rabbits. Julie stayed in the stroller, except when they got to the petting zoo. Harvey and Julie loved the animals in the petting zoo. By the time they finished looking at all the animals, it was lunch time. There was a nice little park area on the fair grounds with trees, picnic tables and lots of open grass area. Larry found a spot under one of the big Maple Trees to spread out the blanket for the picnic. Before he started to unpack the food, he turned to Harvey and asked if he needed to go potty. As the boys went off to the bathrooms, Susan got Julie out of the stroller and laid her down for a diaper change.
Julie got real quiet real fast. Susan was just about to unfasten the tapes when she paused. “What’s wrong my little princess?”
“Can’t we do this in the bathroom? I’m eight.”
“Really?” Susan said with a slight smile on her face. “This little girl in front of me with a wet and probably poopy diaper is how old?”
Julie was quiet for a moment, then she meekly said, “I’m this many mommy, eight.” Julie held up eight fingers to show how old she was.
Susan smiled at the very babyish way she stated her age by showing the fingers. “Well, my little eight year old, we have to change this diaper somewhere. Look around sweetheart, all the other little boys and girls in diapers are getting their diapers changed.
Julie looked around. From where she was laying down, she could see about eight or nine little kids getting their diapers changed. Most of them were two or younger, but a few were maybe four or even five. None of them were anywhere near eight years old. “But they’re all babies mommy.”
“No princess, they are all little kids in diapers. Little kids who do not use the toilet. They are all just like you Julie. It does not matter if they are 1, 4, or 8. Little kids who do not get their pee-pee and poopy in the potty, wear diapers or training pants.”
“But do I have to be changed here mommy? I’m eight. Eight year olds are not changed in the middle of the park.”
“Well little princess, eight year olds usually use the potty for their pee-pee and poopy, so they don’t need to be changed in the park. When they do have an accident, they tell their mommy so they can get changed. If they can do that, then they would be in panties or training pants instead of diapers, so yes, they would be in a bathroom. Eight year olds who don’t use the potty wear diapers, and they DO get their diapers changed in the middle of the park, just like all the other little kids in diapers. The changing tables in the bathrooms are so small you can only change infants on them. If you want to use the potty, then we can go to the bathroom, but until then, let’s get you changed into a nice clean and dry diaper. You can’t go around all day in a wet and messy diaper. You would get a diaper rash.” Susan said as she went back to changing Julie’s diaper.
Julie lay there quietly as she was changed. She was thinking about everything mommy had said. She also looked around at some of the other kids who where getting changed. She was eight, but she had to admit some of them were acting older than she was. She was surprised to see how old some of the kids were who wore diapers or pull-ups. There were kids who were bigger than her being changed. They were probably four or five years old, but they were bigger than her. She didn’t know four and five year olds still wore diapers and pull-ups. Even the kids in pull-ups were being laid down with the pull-ups being taken off just like a diaper.
Julie was taking this all in, when she saw something reminding her she was just a little baby. One of the little kids, not more than two, said, “Potty Mommy.” As they headed off for the bathroom, Julie heard the mom complement the kid for keeping her pull-up dry and clean for the last three days. This little girl, someone who before today Julie would have called a baby, was doing something Julie couldn’t. Even before Julie was put back in diapers, she never managed to keep her panties dry or clean for three days in a row. Sometimes it was just a little bit of pee-pee or poopy showing up in her panties that she managed to hide, but she couldn’t remember ever going three days without something. This little girl was a big girl, and Julie knew she had never been a big girl.
Trip to the Fair – Part 10
By Teekabell – 2003
Julie was quiet all the way through lunch. She just kept watching the people around them. There were a lot of kids in diapers. Most were babies and toddlers, but there were a few older kids. There was even one kid she thought was maybe six years old. He was in pull-ups, but even he was laid down to be changed. Mommy was right; kids in diapers are changed in the open at the park. Julie kept hoping she would see a kid older than her in diapers, but they were all much younger than her.
The hard part was not watching the little ones in diapers, it was seeing who was NOT in diapers OR training pants. She never thought much about it before, but little kids under 5 show off their underwear or diapers a lot, especially the girls in skirts or dresses. She expected kids three and up to be in panties or underwear, but it was the number of kids under three that surprised her. The youngest she saw looked to be under two years old. She still drank from a bottle and wore a bib to eat. Part of the meal, her mom even fed her. But, this little one was in panties. She couldn’t even say more than two words together, but she was a big girl and Julie, was just a baby. Julie started to wonder if Harvey was right and she should be using the highchair and sleeping in a crib. Maybe she really was his little sister.
Just then, mommy started wiping Julie’s face and hands with a baby wipe to get all the peanut-butter and jelly off of them. She looked over at Harvey, he was just handed a napkin and told to wipe his face. There was a little bit of jelly on it but not much. Julie looked at her hands and the bib mommy hadn’t taken off yet, they were covered with jelly and peanut butter. For the first time in several days, Julie started to question why she was being treated like a baby. She was older than Harvey, wasn’t she? With the same quizzical eyes she had been using to observe all the other children in the park, she turned to Harvey, her LITTLE brother. He was bigger, than her. He could eat without making a mess and mommy never put a bib on him. He was drinking from a cup with a straw, yes it had a lid, but it had a straw and she was drinking from a sippy cup with a non-spill spout. He was wearing underwear day and night. She couldn’t remember the last time he wet them, all she could remember was he would always cry and fuss when he wet his pants. She never did that, sometimes she didn’t even know when she was wet or poopy. He never pooped in his underwear. He liked to be hugged and get piggyback rides, but usually didn’t want to be carried. He didn’t have any baby stuff in his room like changing tables, railings on the bed, or diaper pails. The only time he sucked on a pacifier was when he played house and he was the baby, but she couldn’t remember him being the baby for a long time. He usually wanted to be the Daddy. He didn’t want to ride in the stroller or in grocery cart seats. He liked to be in the basket part were the food goes, but not in the seat. In the car he was very insistent that he fasten and unfasten his own seatbelt, but she almost never did.
Was Harvey really her LITTLE brother? Maybe Mommy and Daddy got mixed up and maybe he was really older. “NO,” Julie said out load.
“What Julie,” Susan asked turning around? Larry and Harvey both looked at her too, curious by her exclamation. It was the first thing she had said in over half an hour. Since the boys came back from the bathroom, she hadn’t said anything. Now she says one word, and no one can figure out what it means.
“Is something wrong princess,” Larry asked?
“Maybe she is still hungry and she didn’t want mommy to take her bib off,” Harvey tried to interpret.
“Is that it princess, do you want more to eat?” Susan and Larry were puzzled. Larry knew something had happened when he went off to the bathroom, but didn’t know what. Susan suspected the comment had something to do with what Julie had been thinking the whole time, but she was just as much in the dark as Larry. She reached over and put the pacifier in Julie’s mouth and then went back to cleaning up the picnic.
Julie wasn’t helping. She hadn’t meant to say that out load, and was not going to tell anyone what she was thinking about. She was older than Harvey. She was eight, almost nine, and he was just a little baby 6 year old. He was only going into 1st grade, but she was a big girl going into 3rd grade. Suddenly she froze. 3rd grade, 3rd grade, it kept going around in her head. She had never seen a 3rd grader sucking on a pacifier. They didn’t wear bibs or drink from sippy cups. Just then she farted, but she was almost sure they were not farts. She had just pooped her DIAPERS!!! Third graders don’t wear diapers. Even if they did, which she was sure they didn’t, they don’t poop them. She couldn’t go to 3rd grade wearing diapers. 2nd she wondered for a moment, no. 1st took just a moment before she came to the same conclusion, no. She remembered a few other kids wetting their pants in 1st grade, but none of them wore diapers. And none of them would ever poop their pants. Kindergarteners, they were such babies, but she couldn’t remember any of them wearing diapers or pooping their pants either. The last place she remembered any other kids peeing and pooping their pants was in Preschool. She wasn’t a 3rd grader, she was a Preschooler. She couldn’t remember any Preschooler’s still in diapers, but she ignored this fact, they would still have peeing and pooping accidents. She must be a preschooler.
Her little kid logic was trying to figure this all out. If she was peeing and pooping her diapers, then she would be going into Preschool, not 3rd grade. Harvey, her ? ? Little ? ? brother, was going into 1st grade, he didn’t wear diapers anymore, not even night time diapers. At this thought, she was interrupted by her mom tickling her tummy as she prepared to change Julie’s wet and POOPY diaper.
“So Julie,” Susan asked? “You have been very quiet. What have you been thinking about?”
Julie definitely did not want to answer this. She was still trying to get use to the idea that she was not going into 3rd grade, but was instead going into Preschool.
“Did you enjoy the sheep?” Susan asked, but not really in a way expecting an answer. “We are going to go to the rides and games next. Harvey is real excited. He wants to go on the roller coaster and the bumper cars. What do you want to go on dear?”
“Me big girl?” Julie asked in a very questioning timid manner.
Susan knew this was coming. Again, she didn’t know if Julie wanted to be a big girl but wasn’t sure if she could be, or if she wanted to be a baby and wanted permission to be one. There were very few safe ways to answer this question.
“You are Mommy’s big girl.” Susan progressed slowly. “You have always been Mommy’s big girl ever since you took your first steps just before your first birthday.”
This was not really what Julie was looking for. She was about to ask another question when she felt the coldness of the baby wipe on her bottom as her Mommy was cleaning up her poopy bottom. This answered the question. Julie knew now she was not a big girl anymore. Harvey was a big boy, but Julie was just a little girl, a baby girl.
It wasn’t long before she was being strapped into the stroller and they were all off to the rides. Julie didn’t want to go into Preschool. She wanted to go into 3rd grade with all her friends. She decided that all she needed to do was prove to her Mommy and Daddy that Harvey was the baby not her. She was determined to prove that she was really the big sister and Harvey was the little baby of the family. She just had to figure out how.
Trip to the Fair – Part 11
By Teekabell – 2003
Julie’s effort to prove Harvey was a little kid and she’s a big girl was harder than she thought. They would play games and Harvey would win, not her. They ate cotton candy, and Harvey’s face was clean at the end, hers wasn’t. It was the rides that made her think she was wrong. The first ride to show the problem was the bumper cars. Julie was in line right behind Harvey.
“I am sorry little one,” the man at the gate said as Julie reached the gate. “This is a big kid ride.”
“But you let Harvey get on!” Julie complained.
“Is that your brother little one,” the man asked pointing to Harvey?
“Yeah,” She whined. “You let him get on.”
“Well little one,” he said. “Your big brother is taller than you. This sign shows how big you have to be to ride this ride. He is big enough, you are not.”
“But he is my little brother,” Julie was whining as her Mommy pulled her away from the line.
It took Susan awhile to calm her down. When Harvey and Larry got off the Bumper Cars they found the girls sitting on a bench. Julie was sucking on her pacifier while Susan cradled and rocked her.
“Is Julie okay Mommy,” Harvey asked.
“Oh yes Harvey,” Susan responded. “She was just upset because they wouldn’t let her ride on the Bumper Cars.”
They went off to the Farris Wheel next, a ride Susan knew the whole family could ride.
Julie wanted to prove she was a big girl and Harvey was a little kid, but she couldn’t do it. Even in the Kiddy Ride section of the Fair, Julie found rides Harvey could ride and she couldn’t. As the afternoon went on, Julie was having a harder and harder time dealing with Harvey being considered older than her. She especially hated that Harvey could go on rides she couldn’t, because she was a little girl and he was a big boy.
Susan was working hard to keep Julie from having to deal with Harvey being able to do things she couldn’t, but it was hard. She wanted the Fair to be a break from all the stresses, but it wasn’t turning out that way. She tried to get Larry to see this and convince him it was time to leave, but he was feeding off of all Harvey’s enthusiasm, not seeing how all this was draining Julie. Larry had the two kids with Susan lagging behind with the stroller, as they approached one of the small Roller Coasters in the Kiddy section. The line was short, so they reached the gate before Susan caught up with them.
“I am sorry sir,” the man at the gate said. “Your baby girl can’t ride this Coaster. Babies with yellow passes are only allowed on the Roller Coaster over by the Ferris Wheel. You and her big brother can ride this one but the baby can’t.”
Julie went straight to tears. Between the sobs, Harvey and Larry could hear her say, “It’s not fair.”
“It is okay Julie, we can go to the other Roller Coaster,” Harvey tried to sooth her. “They are just trying to keep little kids safe. When you get to be a big girl you can ride all the same rides I can.”
Although Harvey had tried hard to help, he wasn’t. Susan was soon there and just took Julie telling Larry she was heading for the car.
“There, there Julie,” Susan said as they headed for the car. “It has been a tough day, hasn’t it princess. A nice nap and you will feel better.”
“No NAP,” Julie protested through the tears. “Me big girl, no nap.”
“Oh, now there princess,” Susan tried to recover from saying the forbidden word – Nap. “It’s okay dear. It’s okay. Mommy’s here. Mommy will take care of everything. It’s okay dear. We’ll be at the car real soon.”
By the time Susan got Julie’s diaper changed and the stroller unpacked, the boys arrived. Susan strapped Julie into her car seat, as Larry got the stroller in the back. Harvey climbed into his booster seat and strapped himself in. They were on the road for home in no time at all. Julie fell asleep within minutes of pulling out of the parking lot.
As Larry was getting Julie out of the car to carry her into the house, Julie started to wake up.
“Oh princess, it’s just me.” Larry tried to sooth Julie during this transition. “We’re home. Let’s get you out of the car and into your bed.”
As they maneuvered around the car in the garage, Julie spotted the crib and high chair Harvey had pointed out earlier. “Julie’s cwib and highcha Daddy,” she said before putting her head on his shoulder and falling back to sleep.
As he carried her back to her bedroom and tucked her in, he debated the meaning of her comment. He didn’t like it, but he knew what she meant. She wanted him to set up the crib and highchair for her. He really questioned the sensibility of allowing his eight year old daughter to act and be treated like a baby, but she was more of a three year old today, than an eight year old. He was surprised, but Susan was right. People viewed Julie as a toddler and preschooler. No one ever considered her anywhere near eight years old. He was concerned about all of this, but he knew Julie, she would snap out of it once Susan started toilet training her again. At least he hoped she would.
THE END
