Kid Scoop
No Cuts! No Butts! No Coconuts!
Last weekend my entire family waited in line for an HOUR because my kids wanted to get their face painted. We were at a street faire. It was free. It seemed like a fun thing to do. But the longer I waited the more I wondered whether we were great parents or pushovers. After the jump I’ll tell you how I deal with the waiting game that I constantly find myself in with my kids. Do you too? The best things in life always seem to require waiting in a line!
Truth be told: I was silently feeling superior to the mom who said to her kid, “Oh no, that line is too long. You’re not getting your face painted today.” But at the same time I was envious of her for saying no. As much as my husband and I tried to convince my kids otherwise, they were determined. We waited. And waited.
I tried to enjoy the time in line. It wasn’t so horrible. I got to be with my family without distractions. Sometimes a band came out to entertain the crowd. We had no place to be that Saturday. The weather was perfect. The families around us seemed nice enough. There was a collective sigh every fifteen minutes from the adults as the kids all played together in the street. Finally one of the parents broke the silence and said, “She should just paint a heart on the kids faces! Perhaps a simple star? Is a complete lion face really necessary?” I agreed. It felt like the painter was building her portfolio. She took such care with each child to get it just right. I even timed her! It took her anywhere from 2.5 – 5 minutes to complete each face. I couldn’t believe when we finally got to the front. Oscar picked a robot face. Ella wanted a Mardi Gras mask with sparkles. And Owen chose a lion face, of course. His took the full five minutes. But we did it! I couldn’t believe we survived the Waiting Place. That most useless place!
I can’t stop thinking of Dr. Suess’s book Oh The Places You’ll Go when I’m in a line. He writes that somehow we can escape all that waiting and staying. But how? Waiting in line seems like part of parenthood that is unavoidable. Sometimes the pay off is worth it (Santa!). Sometimes it’s not (free face painting!).
How do you avoid waiting in line? In some places, waiting in line is big business! We’ve all been tempted to buy fast passes to avoid lines at amusement parks. In China, they pay people 3 dollars an hour to wait in line. Brilliant! Even retail stores are finding ways for people to avoid waiting in line for hot items. Today, you can pre-order a new iPhone 4S so you can avoid the lines when the stores get it on October 14th. You might have to wait a few days for shipping, but you can a least avoid the line! Is it worth it to camp outside a Mac store to be the first to get the newest phone? It’s hard to say!
I created slide show of things I’ve had to wait in line for over the past year. Some of them worth it. Some of them not!
Have you ever waited in line for an hour? 2 hours? 3? What for? Was it worth it?
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10 Comments
Beth commented on Oct 07 11 at 2:16 pmWe have waited in line for rides at Disney… oh and for the American Girl Doll place in Mall of America to open…and also for Santa at the Mall of America! That is about it…
Hillary commented on Oct 07 11 at 2:21 pmWaiting in line 45 minutes to an hour for a Santa photo at the Mall “NO”! But seeing the photos 3 years later and their little faces and remembering what they were like at Christmas makes me rethink my answer…
Melissa commented on Oct 07 11 at 2:33 pmDetroit always has a winter festival downtown and we went to go ice skating on the out door rink and it was free…..we had to wait in line for 2 1/2 hours for the kids to get skates….it was insane. Not to mention all the un supervised kids that were throwing snow in the line and bumping into people and yelling and screaming, we were crammed into this long line in the freezing cold…I would say it wasnt worth it but the kids ended up having a blast and so did we. :o)
OAJ commented on Oct 07 11 at 10:17 pmI thought it was no butts, no cuts, no coconuts. Anywho…
Linda, t.o.o. commented on Oct 08 11 at 11:19 amInsane.
Chris commented on Oct 09 11 at 8:05 amI HATE any line!:) I just don’t like waiting…good lines,bad lines,or anything in between. I simply don’t have the patience for it. When I am forced to be in a line, I try every possible way to get out of the line. Disney=Fast Pass,Parent Pick-up at school=Bus or Ride Bikes or get there late to avoid the line,doctor’s office=get there right on time…not too early or too late,grocery store=buy 20 items or less and get express lane or self check out…and the list goes on & on:)
I would have been the parent that would have distracted my kid away from the hour wait for face painting. I honestly don’t think my kiddos would have had the patience to stay in that line for one hour either:) Did I teach them to be that way or is it in their genes?:) Luckily, technology has helped all of us when we are stuck in a line and can’t get out.
~Christine
p.s. The kiddos faces look so cute painted:) Great pics:) Great memories:)
Liz Silva commented on Oct 17 11 at 12:15 pmHA! this made me laugh: I am a face painter and just did a fair on Saturday. I did some tigers, butterflies etc. I am pretty fast, but fortunately there was NOT an hour-long wait. if there was, they’d all be getting hearts with some glitter ;-)
One kid asked for a ‘camo’ face, as in ‘camouflage’. I thought he’d said ‘camel face’ and I panicked because I’ve never painted a camel face!!! Thank goodness I double-checked: that would’ve been one seriously disappointed 7 year old!
I avoid lines like the plague. luckily, my kids don’t like lines either and if something is too crowded they lose interest.
That said, however, my 4 year old and my husband waited over 2 hours to get a spot on a pier on 70-something along the west side hwy to see the 4th of july fireworks, and apparently that was totally worth it!
Mary commented on Oct 17 11 at 1:55 pmYour kids have such cute little outfits!
julianne commented on Dec 09 11 at 11:01 pmHaha. So I worked for a birthday party company in college…and you better believe I would have to paint 30 kids faces or make 30 animal balloons, in about 15 minutes. They were the more simple ones, but it’s true, they were just as happy! :)
I’ll wait in line for good food, a book signing, or to make my children happy. Otherwise, I get kind of get impatient. :)
Kaye commented on Jan 28 12 at 1:59 amI twice (not once) waited over 2 hours for amusement park rides. Once when I was a tween and once about 2 years ago (I am now 30). Neither was worth the wait. One time I also waited over an hour for another park ride, but it was so worth it. It is one of my favorite rides to this day!! I was 16 when I first rode the Chang at Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom and ride it at least once every time I go. Amusement park rides are pretty much the only thing I can remember waiting in line for; I hate waiting in line and avoid it as much as possible. Of course I don’t have kids yet so I know that will change!
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