The Patterson family made its first of probably a few appearances at the Yazoo County Fair this week. And with our fill of funnel cakes and burgers, slightly aching bodies from the rides and a few moments of bonding as a family…it was a tremendous fun experience.
It warmed my heart to see my teenage son James, who is more interested in finding his friends, ask me to ride the Orbiter with him. The Orbiter is my favorite ride, and I can only ride it about two times with my 42-year-old body now. But when I was younger, I would ride it at least nine times in one night.
I laughed out loud watching the face of my husband Jason erupt into laughter as he glided into the night sky aboard Pharaohs Fury, which we still refer to as “the pirate ship.”
Our daughter Elsie found herself covered with powdered sugar after she eagerly consumed a funnel cake, complete with chocolate syrup.
And our youngest son Jase had both a fit of terror followed by extreme mania excitement on the Sky Wheel.
For close to four hours, we left our worries at the gate. There were no pressing work deadlines. No concerns over what happened at school that day. It was a night at the fair, where everyone was transformed into a little kid again.
And this year’s Yazoo County Fair and its organizers should pat themselves on the back.
With a hectic workday ending Monday, the Pattersons decided to leave deadlines, a sink of dirty dishes and all our worries behind us as we headed to the county fair. We always had a wonderful time at the fair, but there were a few things I noticed this year that made it even more special.
While waiting in line for the Orbiter, Jason and I noticed an elderly couple already on the ride, anxiously waiting for it to start. This sweet couple looked like they were probably in their 70s, but they were grinning just as large as the younger children around them. As the ride started, the sound of screams and laughter could be heard as the ride danced into the night sky, tossing and turning with major speed. And when the ride concluded, slowing down, we noticed that couple again. The sweet lady had her head resting on his shoulder, both faces consumed with smiles and laughter. It was hard to tell the elderly couple from the younger children.
“That will be us one day,” Jason said, as we continued up the steps to ride next.
Walking through the fair barn, the Pattersons looked over the many art pieces submitted by our local students. I must admit, we have some talented young artists in our community. But as I was gazing over the pieces, Jase began jumping up and down frantically.
“I got second place,” he shouted, pointing to his artwork. “Right there! A red ribbon! Second place.”
Jase’s excitement over a simple ribbon was an awesome sight to see. And he remained on cloud nine for the remainder of the night.
But the crowning moment for me involved my oldest son, James. He was so eager to meet with his friends, but when we approached the Orbiter, I noticed he was still hanging around me.
“That is my favorite ride,” I said, pointing to it. “I used to ride it like crazy when I was younger.”
“I’ll ride it with you,” James replied.
Grabbing a blue seat and slamming the safety bar down, we were ready for takeoff. And as the ride began to gather speed, it occurred to me how tall James was to me, how his legs extended farther than mine. But we sped off into the sky at a high rate of speed, he began to laugh so loud. Holding our arms up, we were flung into the fall air without a care in the world.
As the ride began to slow and returned down, I looked over at my 16-year-old son. He was that little kid again, with a grin across his face. He was laughing so loud and making fun of how much I screamed during the ride. But it was the best moment of the night.
As I hugged him goodbye when he joined his friends, I saw that same little kid, running to the next ride. And as the sound of laughter and screams and the ride bulbs began to light up, I looked around the crowd for the rest of my family. Seeing them in the distance, waving me over to join them on a ride, I couldn’t help but grin.
Life was good. And I was reminded of how good it was at the county fair…a place where you can hop on this ride of life, shoot up in the sky towards the stars and hang onto the ones you love.
