Giddyup

Dear Laney,

Today, your dad needed to do some work on that damn paper his thesis, so you and I went to town for a big adventure. We did a little shopping, then I took you to lunch at the barbecue place where you got to eat macaroni and cheese. You had cinnamon apples as a side dish, and we were both surprised to learn that you're allergic to cinnamon. You can eat it just fine, but it turns the skin around your mouth bright red.

You tried to pay the bill yourself, which was mighty nice of you, but speaking of surprises: Famous Dave's does not accept the Missoula County Library Card as a form of payment.

After lunch, we went to the park where you got to run around for a while. May I say, your outfit today was nothing short of a fashion delight.

We were on such a roll, I decided we should throw caution to the wind and end our day with a ride on the carousel. I bought our tokens and we climbed on board. I put you on one of the smaller horses, and then stood beside you, ready to hang on to you for the duration. Then, the middle schooler who operates the ride came and told me that I was not allowed to stand on the carousel - I needed to get on a horse. All of the old lady benches on the carousel were taken, but the 8th grader pointed us in the direction of two horses right next to each other.

I had a moment of profound indecision... do we get off this ride and say, "Thanks, anyway?" Or... do we get on side-by-side horses and see what happens? Everyone on our side of the carousel was staring at us, because we had become Those People Who Are Holding Up The Ride. So I took a deep breath, and put you on a horse, hitched up my dress, and climbed up on the horse next to yours. I put the safety belt around you and kept a white-knuckle grip on the back of your dress.

You were very very good at holding on. As the carousel started to spin faster, your reaction fluctuated between wide-eyed panic and full-body giggles. And in case you're wondering, these are the thoughts that ran through my head:

1. I must hang on to this baby.
2. If I keep looking sideways, I'm going to hurl.
3. Please, Jesus, don't let my baby start crying.
4. Is it just my imagination, or is everyone looking at me like they can't believe I put my child on this ride?
5. Also, Jesus, it would be nice if the baby didn't throw up, either. Amen.
6. I will give that punk kid $100 to stop this ride immediately. $100 buys a lot of Stridex.

Mercifully, the ride started to slow down and eventually came to a blessed stop. That's when you began rocking back and forth in your saddle, trying to make your horse move again. You started doing the sign for "More," while yelling "Moh!," "Moh!" I had to explain that the ride was over and everyone had to get off.

"Moh!" "Moh!"

Maybe some other time...when all the blood returns to my fingers and my breathing returns to normal.

Love,

Mom