Parades Are Funny

The boys and I watched a firetruck parade this evening in Monticello. Yes, a parade with nothing but firetrucks. It was actually kind of interesting with the many different towns involved and being able to see one of the first firetrucks ever used. My favorite was the one pulled by horses.  We even saw my cousin Austin driving a truck from Guttenberg. I am typically mortified when people shout at other people to get their attention, but something came over me tonight as I yelled, "AUSTIN!" and then waved like a crazy person.  He heard his name, slowed down, and gave a nice shout out to Cooper and Collin. It is unclear if I will ever be brave enough to do that again.

At any rate, parades are kind of funny to me.  People really take them seriously! They save spots hours in advance and are secretly worried someone might take their claimed spots.  I have been there and done that.  The parade entries prepare for their debut and flash their best smiles and maybe even secretly practice their parade wave. I mean, why don't people just line up every night and watch the traffic pass? It is kind of the same idea.  Except for the CANDY.  Maybe parades are an excuse to throw small, enticing objects at small children without it being a problem? Do parades exist because of the candy or for people to "parade" themselves through town?

I was IN a parade once when I was little.  I remember always looking at the people in the parades with such admiration, as if they were celebrities.  I watched other children ride by on their fancy bicycles, sit in the passenger seat of a really nice car WITHOUT A CAR SEAT OR SEATBELT, and have that special spot in a firetruck as they threw candy and imagined how much fun it would be.  I shared this with my mom and so it was planned that in the 4th of July parade I would sit in the FRONT SEAT of the ambulance with my Uncle Jim and throw candy. I was so excited! But once I was seated in the ambulance and that door shut, I sort of panicked. How would I know how MUCH candy to throw? How would I know how hard to throw it? How often do I throw the candy? And then the realization hit that I would not be able to SEE the parade and get my OWN candy if I was IN the parade. I felt sick and maybe wanted to cry. But I remained quiet and suffered in silence. In the end it was fun and a great experience, but one I never took part in again. 

I always try my best to FULLY enjoy everything that I do. To not let my "quirks" take over. They took over tonight. Every piece of candy thrown at my children made me think of the HUGE bowl of candy we still have from the 4TH OF JULY!!.

Now THIS is what we have!

So now I am thinking how HALLOWEEN is around the corner! This bowl will NEVER be empty! Speaking of Halloween...it is time to start perfecting the costumes.