The second she laid eyes on her old friend the ocean, Mila's eyes grew wide. Recent trips to a lake have made her a huge fan of running from the sand deep into the water and back again, so I'm sure that's what she had in mind. What she failed to notice, however, is that the ocean tends to be more alive than a lake -- the waves crashing and pull of the water as it regressed instantly harshed Mila's ocean buzz.
Whoever decided water should attack people was stupid, you see.
About three seconds after touching ocean water, Mila declared herself done with it. Which, considering we were on Day One of a two-day Ocean City vacation, was a bit of a letdown. There was kicking and screaming and whining, and then there was Mila's reaction. She wanted away from the water just as much as I wanted to stay.
I retreated and let her play in the sand for a bit, but then I made her return. As I stood letting the ocean crash into my knees, I held Mila safely above the water. I told her over and over again that the water was fun, but she disagreed. Vehemently. The smallest splash set her into an angry tirade.
Lather, rinse, repeat. I tried to convince her; she reminded me that there would be no convincing.
It was right around the eleventieth sixteenish time I stood in the ocean while holding Mila up high that something caught her eye. One of Mila's favorite older kid friends was right beside us. He was sitting in the water, waves splashing up to his shoulders. As water washed over his head and in his face and absolutely everywhere, he laughed. He laughed and he laughed and he laughed because THE OCEAN IS FUN, YOU GUYS.
Mila stared at him.
She stared hard.
When Mila stares at someone, she is absolutely judging them. I have no doubt that she is formulating all of the opinions. She's generally not kind with opinions.
Except this time. This time she judged her friend and decided he was AWESOME AND OBVIOUSLY CORRECT! She begged to be let down and instantly started enjoying the waves.
So basically Mila decided the ocean was fun only because her friend said it was fun.
I can't wait to see what kind of trouble Mila finds once peer pressure is a legit part of her life.