‘Round and ’round we go
Once again I begin with an apology for not writing more often. Plenty of things are happening but that’s no excuse. I’ve heard from people who I’ve never met before and they want more entries. So here we go.
I actually remember riding the merry-go-round when I was little. I especially recall wearing a stars and stripes hat–it was shaped like the soul hats of the ’70′s that Phil on “American Idol” sports now–while riding in Washington on a family vacation. Each time I came around, my dad tried to take my picture (and my brother’s, who was riding next to me) and each time the person in charge of the ride pulled my hat over my face. It was a lot of fun.
Now I’ve become the dad trying to take the picture, although I got to stand next to our daughter on her very first ride as my wife tried to get the snapshot. Our daughter was a bit scared, a little puzzled and a tad eager as she went ’round and ’round on her giraffe. She started to get the hang of it and seemed to enjoy being the jockey, holding on as we turned and smiling more each time. My wife was able to get two great shots that captured the joy of our girl’s first amusement park ride.
She seemed to have an even better time when her mom stood next to her and I said hello on each turn. Now she’s become the carousel pro and has figured out that getting advance tickets is the way to go to beat the long lines. (I was almost as proud of her for not having a tantrum while we waited to buy tickets).
I know there’ll be a day when our daughter will think she’s too cool for the merry-go-round. I know she’ll have more fun on the scary rides than I will, but I’m more than happy to watch her enjoy this one for quite a while.
