I promised my Bestie that after the previous post, I would not tease with such titles of craziness and deliver only the mundane story of the day. So here is a post about our weekend fun at the fair, a tale of the sweet lady who gifted us the arm bands for ride admission and overall great family fun.

We started are trek 30 minutes south deep into Clay County, as some might say mirrors old “SMIB” county territory. Not light or road sign for miles, and sadly, housing developments popping up on every mile or so. One thing missing here that you would find any time in the rural areas of Southern Maryland, the Amish carriages hustling in and out of town. Instead of the Amish, here you’ll see plenty of swampland, trump signs still proudly displayed, and steadily increasing traffic/new housing to accompany country roads not meant to withstand the evermore increasing population.

Once we arrived to the fairgrounds, we found parking about a half mile out from the entry. It happened to be a blustery, chilly day and due to the sandy soil drew up small gusts of dust storms as we briskly attempted to enter the venue. As we approached a lady with some sort of injury to her forehead approached me and I half heartedly greeted her. She tried harder then to get our attention, over the dust and wind. I heard her say something to the affect of do you want our wristbands? I piped up of course and said sure, thanking her and wondering why I was judging this woman in the first place. She simply said “pay it forward.”

I looked up as we bought just the tickets for entry, and saw that 5 year olds and under get in free. I quickly told our tiny one, Hazel, Today you are 5 years old. She said, “Ok, Mommy”. I picked her up against my chest to somehow show this 50 lbs 6 year old might pass as 5, she did. I rushed to put down my ever-growing heavy child. As we neared the ride entry, the cost for the wristband was 40 dollars for each person. I was so grateful to have run into that sweet woman who gifted us those kids wristbands. Thanks to her, my kids rode all the rides to their little hearts desire…or at least until Jason got tired.

We went through and saw all the animals, petting the cows and goats. Not the pigs, those show pigs are huge. Last year they were able to pet the bunnies too, and Hazel was slightly disappointed they did not have the bunnies out this year for petting. We walked by the coral area and listened to young farmers practice with their whips, and attempting to “crack” the whip. Hazel then insisted on a pony ride, where as Ella darted straight for the highest ride (to a pre-teen) which she picked the high whirling swings. She went alone, and said she would be fine. She of course was a few inches over the sign signaling how tall you had to be in order to ride the swings. She took a spot on the outside, strapped herself in a gave me a thumbs up. My wild child, up for any challenge, daredevil and first born, got such a thrill from that ride. She couldn’t wait for the next one and insisted on the rollercoaster. Just then Jason and Hazel rejoined us.

We opted for the rest of the time for the little kid rides, as Hazel wanted nothing to do with the roller coaster, and Ella, always doing whatever to make sure her sister is happy agreed to such. They rode the trucks, the teacup, the boat, did the funhouse a few times, and did another ride I cant remember. They drank plenty of lemonade, we didn’t eat any fair food as we had just gouged prior to the trip there on a McDonald’s lunch. They had a blast as always. Jason soon was ready to go home, and we all marched back to the car. Hazel did not want to walk so Jason threw her on his shoulders. I am thankful despite the ever changing world around me, that there are still nice people in this world. I was quick to judge and luckily let my guard down to listen to that older mom of two boys who gifted us those wristbands. If I take anything from our visit to the fair this year, it is to be kind and see the good around you. Take a moment and take in the joy of these fleeting moments of the kids joy of riding all of those rides. And to be grateful for what I have, the love of my family and those rare acts of kindness.

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