This is one of those rare days where I have the entire day off. Haven't had that since the shutdown a few months ago. I'm taking this day to kick back, recharge, do some cleaning, and, of course, blog.
Normally on a Labor Day, you would see a Facebook post entitled "Today at the fairgrounds." You would see pictures of rides partially assembled, concession stands with doors and windows opened in the midst of cleaning and set-up, and workers milling about doing various jobs. Not this year. If I were to venture onto the fairgrounds today, I would see what it's looked like for the last year. Empty. No rides rolling onto the grounds, no food booths organizing their stock for a 10-day stretch of hungry fair-goers. I miss that. I will be kind of sad this Friday, the first official day of the 2020 state fair which will not happen. The first Friday always held excitement for me, thinking first and foremost, "Did my cookies place?" That was always my first stop. My chocolate chip cookies and oatmeal-raisin cookies have taken both 1st and 3rd places over the past few years. I'm also thinking about what kind of food I'll partake of on that day. Will it be a Tacone, Pronto Pup, BBQ Parfait? All of the above? LOL. Fortunately, I walk that food off with all of the walking that I do, with my step-counter running 16,000-17,000 steps in a day. I can make that food at home, but it's much more fun eating it at the fair. What kind of free things would I find this year? I have a big selection of free stuff I've gathered. I posted some pics of my collection a few years ago and got some unkind comments, so I won't be posting pics of that anymore. I always enjoyed the Union booth, as they always had the best free stuff. Some booths gave out free samples, such as the "Crazy Dip Lady," from whom I always purchased several packages of the most wonderful dip mixes. I always took my parents to the fair. This might have been my dad's last trip to the fair, as his health is deteriorating, and has a lot of trouble walking without stumbling, and he gets disoriented so easily. It makes me sad that I won't get one more chance to take him. He loves to look at the livestock, primarily the horses. He always enjoys the Skyride as well. He also like to see Ron Diamond, comic hypnotist. Last year we had to nix that after he got overly tired and hot after just an hour or two. These things I will miss. In the meantime, I'll be posting what I call "State Fair Flashbacks," where I post pics and videos from previous years.
I get it. Really, I do. The State Fair wants to do its part to slow the spread. Opening the fair, a state-wide get-together, could cause a massive outbreak. I know that diehard fair lovers like me would attend, even if they knew they were sick. We are avoiding a potentially devastating cluster in Kansas by closing. But that doesn't make it any easier. The fair is something that I look forward to every year, and I count it as a sort of staycation. I guess that the 2021 state fair will be that much more special.
I can't end this blog post without some positives. ***School has started, and I have a great bunch of kiddos to work with.***I have a wonderful crew of kids at Boys & Girls Club. I'm at a new unit with BGC this year, and it's going well.***We had the chance to celebrate my mom's 75th birthday, and I got her tickets to Lauren Daigle's Drive-in concert later this month! We are wildly excited about that.
In conclusion, just know that I will be OK. I'm not going to get clinically depressed or suicidal over the closure of the fair, LOL. I will be sad, but that's about the extent of it. I'm not going to mope around, all gloom and doom for 2 weeks. I'll keep doing what I do, and doing it the best that I can. I might whip up some fair food. I can make funnel cakes, elephant ears, pronto pups, fried pickles, and more. If you'd like to come by and grab something, drop me a Facebook message, and I'll hook you up.
Hey, gang, thanks so much for taking a few minutes to read my ramblings. I pray God's blessings on you. Have a great week!
