Good Things...

The two younger kids ([Kid 1] had to work), D and I had a lovely time a few weeks back at a local state park. A family member had routed us a free pass and we packed a picnic and headed up. I had checked ahead of time (trying to make the most of the free pass) to see if any events would be going on that might be worth catching. A few, but the one that caught my eye was "BugFest".

Sure. I’m weird. Try to act surprised, huh?

[Kid 3] for some completely unexplainable reason has decided that she’s afraid of bugs. It’s a fairly recent thing, but I thought that kind of easing her back into the reality that bugs are gonna be around us and we have to be able to function with a little controlled environment nature might be a good thing. So I talked to her about it and she seemed to go for it.

There were several booths set up, geared towards educating kids, mostly, about the benefits bugs have to offer. One that had dress-up outfits (which is soooooo up her alley), so that she could dress up like a butterfly. Another that allowed her to draw a picture of a new bug that she would invent. One that had a giant floor puzzle to assemble that was a mass of many different bugs.

This was all set up outside and seemed to be of interest to her and she was enjoying herself. There was also a booth with a toad and a Madagascar hissing cockroach, which [Kid 2] found quite interesting. So, it wasn’t all about [Kid 3] (which sometimes seems to be a bit of a problem at my house). After some coaching and encouragement, she was brave enough to walk into the butterfly tent, with her older sister and quite a few other kids. But she was clearly uncomfortable and wanted back out as quickly as was possible. We were all very demonstrative in our praise for her bravery.

Obviously, we’ve got a ways to go on this issue, but the trip did seem to be a beneficial beginning.

D noticed a hay wagon nearby that was setting up for rides, so we all piled on and took a lovely ride around the park, before heading off to a quiet area for a picnic of tuna sandwiches and applesauce. ([Kid 2] was dealing with some sensitive dental issues and it was easier to just share her limited culinary repertoire.)

Afterwards, we drove to a playground in the park and as D pushed [Kid 3] on the swings, [Kid 2] and I did what we always do when we go to the park, rock out the seesaw. As each of us is "airborne", we strike goofy poses and try to crack each other up. Mental health is highly overrated...LOL!

We all had a pretty fun time, though, and the weather was absolutely lovely.