Rites of Passage

Throughout our lives there are certain things that mark a new beginning or era of our lives. I remember getting my drivers' license and car when I turned 16...going to college...getting married...having kids, etc. Some times of transition are easy while others are more difficult. This past Saturday, our daughter Natalie had a rite of passage of her own that we want to celebrate.

For the first four years of her life, Natalie has been addicted to pacifiers. She has had them...and I do mean them....almost non-stop for four years. On occassion we would lose all of them and that usually would signify the end of the world as we know it. The crying, stomping, throwing a fit hysteria that we have endured is enough to drive her parents (namely me) insane. But that all ended on Saturday.

You see we have been grooming Natalie to release her pacifiers (pacis, affectionally) when she turned four. We had this plan, instituted by cousin Karissa a couple of years ago, by which she would hand them out to characters at Disneyland. This required us to tell her stories about Karissa doing this, showing her the video, and prepping her for the past six months. We anticipated that this "transition" was going to be hell for mommy and daddy. Thankfully we were wrong.

Natalie gave up using her pacifiers last month...on her birthday and has yet to shed a tear about it. Consequently, our trip to the Magic Kingdom was uneventful in the tears category...but quite eventful in the life of our four year old. So with all the pride a parent can muster...I say, "Congratulations, Sweetheart! You are officially paci-less!" There was one small snag when we arrived a few minutes too late to Pooh Corner where the final three pacifiers would be retired, but a couple of smooth-talking parents and grandparents rectified the situation and all was well.

Yeah Team!