I’m not entirely sure when it happened, but I have officially crossed over into “seasoned” mom status at the school carnival. When did that even happen?! For years, I attended that same carnival with little kids spilling out the stroller, kids crying when their balloon popped, and frantically searching when one wandered off. I remember seeing the older moms who didn’t seem to have a care in the world talking with their friends and I couldn’t fathom arriving at that point.
And yet here I am.
We took the family to the school carnival and I was surprised when even Hunter expressed interest in joining. (evidently all of his friends had younger siblings going so they made a night of it.)
As we walked in, the kids requested their tickets and then they were gone…for the night. We stood in a central location talking with friends and we would see them run by every once in a while and we’d see them standing in line for rides. And that’s when I realized, I have arrived at “seasoned” mom status. I managed to snap just three pictures because that’s about as much as I saw them. And Bennett was the Flash, running around with his buddies, and there was no way he was stopping for a picture!
At one point we ran into a friend with three little kids in tow. As she was trying to leave and head home, child #2 had an epic melt down over cotton candy – because that’s what kids do! And I couldn’t help but be empathetic because I’ve been there. We all have. And just because I’m currently carefree and childless at the school carnival doesn’t mean I don’t remember just how hard it was in a not-so-distant past. So Steve and I walked her and her three kids to her car and helped kids get in carseats and strollers broken down.
By the time we walked back, our kids were asking for more tickets before they were off with their friends again. It was a fun evening – and a gentle reminder that I’m now the “old” mom at the school and I’m totally okay with that.
