“I don’t suffer from insanity. I enjoy every minute of it.”
I had to laugh out loud when I read a t-shirt with that saying at today’s St. Patrick’s Day parade and “Charlotte Goes Green” festival. It was a fitting way to describe the circumstances that brought us to the parade.
I’ve been on the fence about going all week. My husband is out of town for work, which means that I was looking at trotting out three kiddos in the middle of a parade uptown. As much as they wanted to go, I had to admit that I wanted to go, too. We haven’t missed the festival in years, and when we woke to a glorious day, I couldn’t resist.
At around 10am, I made a deal with the kids: we could go to the parade on the condition that we skip the festival – with no on-site whining or pleading – and they agreed. Thirty minutes later, we made a run for it.
And, what a day. The last-minute gift decision no doubt added to the fun. It was a bonus that our kids’ school had a float in the parade, and that was, in a word, awesome. Our three-year old sweet pea was happy to wear a funny hat, wave at fans and beep the horn on his Jeep stroller. In fact, walking the parade route was much easier than fighting the crowds. Our older two hammed it up on the float.
In the end, it was only my older son – for whom enough is never enough – who had the nerve to squawk about missing the festival. My daughter took advantage of my little guy’s need to stretch his legs and asked if she could ride in the stroller. Even though she’s waaaayyy too old for a stroller, I obliged and she was so tired that she actually fell asleep. Once in the car, and within three seconds of being buckled in, our three-year old was cashed out.
While we didn’t get to see most of the parade – and I stuck to my guns about skipping the festival – it didn’t change the fun factor of our spontaneous outing. In fact, I think keeping it within my own limits helped us manage expectations. While I feel a little crazy sometimes for agreeing to all of our craziness, I, too, enjoy every minute of it.
