The Eyes of a Child

There's something nostalgic about going to a local festival.

When Karl and I were little, I have many memories of going to the Macedonia "Home Days" which was the local fair that came to town each year. Tons of greasy fair food (that we were never allowed to have) and rides (that we were only sometimes allowed to ride) and carnival games (that we were never allowed to play)...and fireworks.

Really we were just there for the fireworks.

As I grew old enough to drive myself to various things, I began going to these type of things on my own with my friends. We would eat greasy overpriced food, pay far too much money to ride all of the rides and play the games...and still stick around for the fireworks that ended the night.

And then I left for college...and due to lack of funding, Home Days stopped being a thing.

While at Ashland I lucked out that the Ashland County Fair took place in September each year. I got to play in the Ashland Area Community Orchestra each year as part of the fair activities in addition to enjoying all of the sites and sounds of the fair. A group of us would go each year to enjoy our time there...to see the animals, watch the shows, and even one year to see a demolition derby (because...Ashland).

But since I left Ashland, I hadn't gone to any sort of fair/festival...something I didn't realize I was missing until Debbie texted me on Friday and asked me if I wanted to come to the St. Barnabas carnival.

We of course immediately bought elephant ears and funnel cakes and sat down to eat them and enjoy the atmosphere of being home and both being in our hometown at the same time for the first time in years.

After a while we decided to venture over to the carnival rides. These giant metal structures always seemed so intimidating as a child. They seemed so large and looming and I wondered how anything could top them.

(now having been to Cedar Point, I understand the answer to that is "very easily")

We decided to ride the Ferris Wheel first. What once seemed to be the highest point I could ever get to seemed small now, and I couldn't help but wonder if the mind of a child really does change how you view the world. Children view the world with such wonder and awe...and for a few moments I missed being able to feel that way.

But once on the ride and once we reached the top, childhood wonder crept back in as I was able to look around the fair grounds and appreciate everything that was happening around me. Families with screaming children running around, high school students enjoying their time away from their parents, an older couple walking hand in hand taking in the sites around them. I could see everything and nothing all at once. And it was an almost overwhelming feeling knowing that 100s of people had come together for one night to enjoy the nostalgia of the very same festival they had all attended growing up.

Sometimes we need to be reminded of that childhood wonder and awe. If we could all view the world with the eyes of a child more often I think we'd be a lot better off.