We spent the morning at the Alaska State Fair in Palmer. Crazy crowds and dizzy rides with sirens and bright lights, alongside sugar peddlers on every corner do not always mix well with special needs.
We didn't even attempt to go for years.
But...
"I want to go to the Fair," Elias said when he came home from school last week.
And so we did.
And really, it was his sister Olive, not yet three, and all about "me", who challenged me with her whining mantra: "I want icecream. I waaaaannnt icecreeeaaaam!"
(Which she did finally get.)
Elias walked into dozens of folks who mostly smiled and adjusted their path for him. He tried to stick his cane tip through the 830 pound pig's cage. But other than us needing to repeat our directions multiple times he followed along. He complied. He smiled a lot.
And as always, I noticed the way the kids stared at him as we passed. The curious quizzical looks. The raised eyebrows he never sees.
But there was something else at the State Fair today that left me warm inside, despite the chill that came with the afternoon wind. That made me feel apart of an elite club, like a secret handshake.
While checking out the farm animals, we passed a family who had a boy with Down's Syndrome. I caught eyes with the Mom and we smiled at each other like old friends.
Without knowing each others stories, we were already connected.
And here we were at the fair. Out in public. With all these thousands of regular folk just milling around us with ease.
"How ya doing?" the father of a boy with visual impairment asked me when I walked past him with Elias. And though we were walking different directions, I knew we could have sat down together and had an instant starting point for conversation.
And really, we are all broken somewhere. We all have these stories of loss and pain.
Our scars just aren't as outwardly visible as they are for a little blond boy with canes, who accidentally walks right into you on his way to the giant pumpkins.
love that look of sisterly adoration. And the ice cream cone bigger than she is! I'm glad everyone had fun at the fair! Big hugs. <3
Posted by: Ginna | 09/02/2012 at 10:04 PM
love it! glad you had a good weekend!!! Now onto face a new week! Hang in there. This back to school/work transition is hard on everyone.
Posted by: Kate | 09/03/2012 at 07:13 AM
ain't that the truth. I am glad you are in a better place, among good folks, and feeling the sense of community that comes from just being out and about in a beautifully, impossibly perfectly imperfect world.
Posted by: danielle in zurich | 09/03/2012 at 08:24 AM
Well said, as always. I hope you were able to have a little fun at the fair, too!
Posted by: Erin | 09/03/2012 at 08:39 AM
It is amazing how much we all have in common if we just open our hearts a little bit. I'm glad you felt the warmth. Olive sure is sending it to her big brother in that picture. love it.
Posted by: fleming | 09/03/2012 at 05:04 PM
I love that look of Olive's as she looks at Elias.
Posted by: Maureen | 09/03/2012 at 07:14 PM
I feel that 'handshake' often, too! It really is comforting to have that bond with others.
Posted by: Lee | 09/05/2012 at 06:19 AM