Is it time yet?
Why is it that when you're a kid time passes so slow, but when you turn into an adult it goes so quickly?
I had a list of tasks I wanted to complete Saturday, but when the pretty snow started falling I wanted nothing more to do than sit by the picture window, read a book, and watch the snow.
That was something I had envisioned myself doing ever since we moved in the house with a picture window. So, Saturday seemed a perfect time to do it. After all, I was more than halfway through a gripping mystery novel, and thought it would be a good day to finish it. After all, it would probably only take a couple hours.
But have you ever tried to read a book with a five-year-old at your side every few minutes asking "Is it time yet?"
Saturday evening was the night of the Marion Elementary School Carnival, something my son had looked forward to and asked questions about for several days. He was skeptical when I said it would take place in the school gym. He told me in no uncertain terms there was no way you could get carnival rides in the gym. That thinking makes sense since his only prior experience was at the Abilene fair during the summer.
I explained it wasn't that kind of carnival, and said there would be fun booths there. One of my favorites when I was a kid was fishing, I told him.
"Fishing?" he said incredulously. "How do they get water and fish in there?"
I tried to explain it involved dropping a pole behind a screen and reeling in a prize. He wondered if that meant the prize was inside a fish, and hoped he'd catch a catfish.
After several futile attempts at an explanation, I said, "You'll see when we get there."
Anyhow, the day passed way to quickly for me, but terribly slowly for my son, and 5 p.m. finally arrived. We had no idea how many tickets to buy, so settled on $2 worth to start. In 20-20 hindsight, we should have bought the special — 25 tickets for $5 — because we ended up going back to the ticket booth several times to refill.
"Fishing" finally made sense to him, and he had a great deal of fun throwing the ball, tossing rings, jumping on the moon walk, and doing all the other things you do at a school carnival. For my husband and me, it was entertaining watching Erik have so much fun.
It's amazing how the small things in life can be the source of so much enjoyment. Oh, and I did finish my book — about 1 a.m. Sunday morning.
— KATHY HAGEMAN
