Family-Fair-Fun!

Hi Friends,

It's Wednesday and The Monday Motivator is finally being written. Mike sent me an e-mail mid-morning on Monday asking if I was working on it and I replied, "Yes, this afternoon." It's been one of those kind of busy weeks!

Juggling kids (out of school/summer activities), multiple jobs, schedules while Dave travels, and regular things that need to happen is just too much for one Super-Woman! Enough about why a Monday column is arriving on Wednesday!

The last couple of weeks, Dave's dad has been in California spending some time visiting family and dear friends. He is living my dream this summer driving all over the country in his little motor home. Without advance planning, it turns out he was here when the state fair opened and expressed how much he'd like to go. This made me smile. You all know how much I love the fair, I haven't missed a year in, I don't know how long. Back in the early 1990's, my granny used to love haring about my jaunts to the fair. I invited her to go with me and much to my surprise, she said yes! We covered every bit of the Cal Expo fair grounds visiting each exhibit, shopping with the vendors (you know, before As Seen On TV, this was the stuff you could only buy at the fair!), eating anything we wanted and simply enjoying being together. I had so much fun that day, I forgot to take pictures! Ah, but I was not completely remiss in documenting our day, I made sure we got a picture of the two of us with the golden bear, the mascot of the State of California that greets guests at the front gate. My granny never went with me to the fair again, but every year when I shared with her about my recent visits, she would smile and we would reminisce about our day and how much fun we had.

As I was sharing this with Dave's dad, I was excited that Mason would get to go to the fair with his grandpa and though he may not appreciate the value of this time now, he surely will in his adult life. Our trip to the fair last Saturday was great! We made it a double-duty trip and bought tickets to Raging Waters water park as well. This was the perfect way to spend the day keeping cool and enjoying the fair. Mason, who is not quite seven, has no interest in the exhibits (though we made him go with us anyway) and just wants to ride the rides, play a few games, and eat. Breaking the day up between experiencing the fair and playing on the water slides, Breaker Beach, and floating around the Lazy River was a nice balance.

It's never lost on me that we need to grab hold of the opportunities that are presented to us, especially the ones that involve the gift of time with those we love. I don't know if we will have an opportunity to go to the fair again with grandpa and I'm quite certain a trip with either of the grandmas is not in the cards, so to say this was a memorable weekend would be an understatement. Frankly, it was a weekend I will treasure and keep super-safe until Mason is old enough to treasure it for himself, like I treasure my day at the fair with my granny.

Do you have fond memories of time spent with your grandparents? Share one with me, I would love to hear. Keeping our loved ones alive by sharing our stories and remembering their lives is the best gift ever (in reference to my granny, Dad, I'm well aware you are still living!)...especially for those of us who are still living and miss them so very much!

Motivator:
Don't let those moments pass when you can say I love you, go to the fair, or just sit and talk. It will be those times that you will cherish and be forever grateful when the opportunity is gone. I made time to spend a weekend a month with my granny a few years before she passed, best use of my time ever! It may be too late with some, but it's never too late with those we still have! Big Wednesday smiles!