At A Celebration

I was at a local festival today. 

It was cloudy, but humid. 

I had sweat in every folded area of my body. 

As well as the flat downward sloping plains of my back. 

I ate a deep fried brownie. 

1/4 of my daughter's pizza. 

Fried coconut shrimp on a stick. 

River chips. 

Cotton candy. 

A strawberry crepe. 

1/16 of my daughter's cheeseburger. 

Some lemon gelato. 

We wandered over to the carnival rides. 

And I watched my girls scrunch their eyes up as they rode... 

rides that spun. 

rides that dropped. 

rides that soared. 

I hopped onto the Big Drop with them. 

The ride that sloooowly takes you up high into the sky. 

And them without notice, drops you very, VERY quickly back to the bottom. 

Your stomach lurches up into your throat. 

The thrill is intense for me. 

It's my favorite ride at a carnival. 

My kids both cried. 

Sigh. 

But the smiles came out later. 

When they rode rides without me. 

Knowing that they were having fun was all it took to make me feel better after the creepy carnie guy took their tickets. 

And that they were keeping their snacks down.