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Small Town, Big Thrills

I live in what would be considered a small town, rural community. One of the highlights of living in a country-type setting is the town fairs and festivals that happen throughout the summer. The first one of the season for our community is a carnival that is hosted by the local volunteer fire department. Since Hero Guy is a member of one of the community volunter fire departments and ambulance services, we always do our best to support the 'brotherhood'. This afternoon while Hero Guy was getting ready for his shift as the on-call medic for the carnival, I took Little Chic over to ride the various roller coasters and bumper cars. Since Hero Guy was otherwise occupied and Brainy Boy was at a friends, and Yours Truly gets seriously motion sick, Little Chic had to brave the rides on her own. By the look on her face, you can see that wasn't a problem and the thrill seemed to be the same whether she did it solo or with a counterpart.

As we were dropping dollars here and there on the various games and foodstuffs, I became a bit solemn as I saw many people visiting what would be their one and only 'vacation highlight' for the entire summer. Now although my children have many places yet to visit in their lives, they have already had their share of vacation trips, nice hotel stays and adventures to places far beyond. What was an afternoon pastime that will quickly fade for us was the thrill that some of the other kids had been looking forward to all year. It also struck me as I was clutching on to Little Chic's hand so as not to lose her in the crowd, just how many elementary school-aged kids there were running to and 'fro without a parent in sight. Although the environment is generally festive and secure, we do have our share of unforunate events, and having kids running around unprotected still poses a threat.

Little Chic ended the day with the thrill of riding every single ride except for one she wasn't quite tall enough for. I ended the day remembering that I'm blessed to be living the life that I am.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Many events I attend I notice the exact same thing! Am I being overly protective when Camron says "But he gets to go off without his mom or dad"??....no way! I would NEVER forgive myself if something happened, that is my worse fear, losing sight of my child in a crowd, I never understand how parents could do that! UGH!
What a great picture! We totally missed the field days this year! TOO COLD!
~Sue
6/10/2006 9:56 PM
Anonymous said…
She sure looks like she is having a great time - cute picture!
6/10/2006 10:59 PM
Unknown said…
Now, those kinds of rides are right up my alley. It's so nice to see little Miss Caroline having a blast!
6/10/2006 11:29 PM
Anonymous said…
I always think of those things too when I see children who have not been blessed the way we have. I saw some of that at VBS this past week and it really made me sad. We had shirts for the kids that were $5 each. Well, the first day of VBS a few little boys came in and one of the pre-school boys said they didn't have shirts b/c they couldn't afford them. It just broke my heart so I got the decals and went to Wal-mart and got the shirts. I just think that there are times that we can help and when we can we should. abb
6/12/2006 1:36 PM
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