The Missoula Carousel is holding a contest right now called "Ride All The Ponies." If you submit pictures of yourself riding all 40 of the horses on the carousel by December 31st, you'll be entered to win five years of free rides. When I heard about it, I thought it sounded like a fun project for Laney and me. Well, that's partially true. When I heard about it, the hyper-competitive side of me that comes courtesy of my mother kicked in, and I vowed we were going to win that pass, as God is my witness.
Side Story #1: Back in 1995 or so, Peg Peg and Tex moved to a new house in Little Rock. Shortly after they moved in, the little girl who lived in the house behind theirs came over to introduce herself. She was wearing a Girl Scout brownie uniform, but her sash had no badges. "Where are your badges?" Peg Peg asked. "I don't have any," the girl said. Never mind that my mother had known this girl for mere seconds and was in no way related to the child: Peg Peg said, "Well, that won't do. Go home and get your manual and let's start earning some badges." That poor child didn't know what a slacker she'd been until my mama moved in next door; no one is going badgeless on Peg Peg's watch.
So, the carousel contest. Once every week or two, I surprise Laney and pick her up at school and take her to the carousel on the way home. We have a checklist of the horses she still needs to ride and we have fun waiting in line talking about which one she's going to ride next. We're about halfway to our goal.
We stopped by the carousel after school today, and Laney got to ride it four times. On her last go-round, she decided to ride the horse that was next to another mother and daughter. I sat that ride out, but I watched as they rode 'round and 'round, and Laney never stopped talking to that poor woman.
Side Story #2: I ran into another mom from Laney's school a few months ago who told me she'd been Laney's buddy on the field trip to the museum. The mom giggled as she reported, "Laney asked me, 'Did you know my mom's name is Brooke and she dyes her hair?'"
As ride #4 ground to a halt, I stepped up onto the carousel to help Laney down from her horse. I looked at that other mom apologetically and asked, "Well, do you know everything there is to know about our family now?" The mom sighed: "Yes. And I'm sorry to hear about your dog."
I would caution Laney about the downfalls of oversharing, but then I remember I write a damn blog and have no room to talk.
Stay tuned to see if we win.
Love,
Mom
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