Finally being a parent of a teenager is like getting on OzIris , the flagship attraction of Parc Astérix.
© Parc Astérix
I say that because I finally made it in December! Twice even (yeah I know, too strong the old). The good news is that I made it out alive.
First of all we line up:we watch the others go by, we hear them screaming, laughing, above all screaming… we wonder a little what will happen precisely when it is our turn. Will I hold out? Does it shake that much… it seems, but yet I see some who return to it with a smile on their face?!
"finally" we arrive:we waited for this moment and then finally, we would stay in line for a few more minutes to enjoy the calm, but now it's our turn. That's how with your heart beating a tad faster than normal, you get on the "merry-go-round" and... you strap in. Because we know that it will shake! So, we put the harness on, we make sure 8 times that it is really well attached (eh sir? No, I'm not stressed!! AT ALL). We read books on adolescence, we took advice from parents! We saw all these people come out of the carousel alive. Shaken, but they still look pretty happy (or relieved?)
The ascent begins. Gently. We are reassured. Oh well it's going to do it finally wait it's super quiet in fact !! And then what a view, sublime this new angle, this height! Brilliant this thing in fact... Unless... tell me what is this very steep descent there? Er….
I want to come down, go straight to adulthood
too taaaaaaaard
here we go
we no longer control anything
we are on track
it goes down sharply, and then it goes up, but above all it turns, once, twice, we are shaken in all directions and all the senses are affected
No more notion of height, weight, size, sight fades, hearing... I only hear myself screaming... I will no longer have a voice, that's for sure. Never again.
And then suddenly, we open an eye, because it seems to calm down. Phew. A short moment of respite and already the next spin makes us understand that no, no, it's not won, it's not over. We will still have to fight against the tremors….
Why is it so violent?
And if in the end the trick was to let yourself be carried away. Trust each other ? Come on, let's try? The tour is over…
The harness comes up. It takes time to walk properly again. The emotions experienced come out of a sudden, laughter, tears, we hug, we congratulate each other. We are alive. Stronger.
this is the end that I hope more than anyone else to be able to confirm on the teenage side.
Because right now, I'm only halfway through the roller coaster. OzIris we will call her. Because it's the last attraction I did with her.
Twice.
Because actually… I loved it!
