What a gorgeous sunny, hot summer day we had today. The sunshine felt great after days of cloudy, rainy weather. Today, after our deliveries, we decided to take advantage of the nice day and go to the Washington County Fair; Sam came too since he was off and was our delivery driver. Our deliveries were in Saratoga, so we literally had to drive right by the fairgrounds.
The fair was quite packed when we got there shortly before 4 pm. You could see it on people’s faces that they were so happy to be able to go to the fair again after last summer, you remember, the summer where not a single fucking thing happened. Concession stand workers looked happy to be back in business; kids showing their animals had huge smiles on their hot red little faces. Hell, even the animals were happy to be there and relaxed.
Sam’s birthday is on August 29, always back to school time. I had a planned cesarean section and could pick his birthday. I chose August 29, which was close to my due date. I wanted to be sure to have him before the school cut-off on September 1. My thoughts were it would suck to be held back a whole year because you missed the cut-off by a day or two. If he was ready to go to Kindergarten, he could go; he could wait until the following year if he weren’t ready. He was ready for school by the time he was 3, for pity’s sake. I asked his pre-school teachers what they thought, and they said, “Oh my goodness, he’s ready!”
We always celebrated Sam’s birthday by going to the fair, which happens to be on his birthday week. Today, I was so happy he said he wanted to go with us. Marty and I have gone to the fair alone after the boys were grown up, but it was nice to have him come along.
Going to the fair with an almost 21-year-old is, of course, different than going with two young boys. I listened to one father say, “If you don’t stop it, we are going home!” “Wahhhhhhh no,” cried his son and got his shit together quickly, I am guessing. We all laughed because it’s funny to see when you’ve already been through it. I don’t miss having to reprimand my boys, but I do miss when they were little.
I kept seeing the cutest little girls in cowboy hats, dresses, and cowboy boots with braids. I know grandchildren, I mean granddaughters aren’t in the immediate future, but I keep hoping one day I will have a little girl or two to take places and have someone to do girly things with me. God blessed me with two amazing sons, but dammit I want granddaughters someday. LOL! 😉
This morning I found a photo of Sam and me getting ready to ride on the Himalaya. The photo was from 2009; Sam was turning 9. I am such a mush because I started to cry when I looked at his little face next to me. Every time I looked at it, I said, “Aw, he was so little.” Today, although we didn’t pose on the ride Himalaya because they didn’t have that ride, we tried to re-create the 2009 photo, which was the first Facebook photo I ever posted.
We walked around the fair; it was hot and sunny. We supported a local fire department and ate our dinner at their stand. They had local sausages for their sausage, pepper, and onions which we had bunless. The best news was that the only thing they cooked in their fryer was french fries so we could have them. Score! It was delicious, and they did a nice job. It was important to us to get something from a local fundraising group and not a carny wagon. I did get a rootbeer sno cone from a carny truck before we left since they were the only ones that had them.
So my youngest turns 21 on Sunday; age has never been a thing I’ve thought about much when it comes to Sam; he’s so darn mature, always has been, an old soul. I’ve been saying for years that I hope one day that I can be half as mature as Sammy when I grow up.
What a fun post – I feel like I was there!