carry on

I have decided........ nothing. Well, that's not totally true. HA! I can't even make a decision as to whether I've made a decision or not! Somewhere in there is a funny.

So yesterday I took the kids to the NJ History Fair. NJ is one of those states rich in history and once a year there are live exhibits displaying that history at Washington Crossing State Park near Trenton. Son #3 couldn't wait to get there. Son #2 went only to push my wheelchair. That's right, I gave in to my bodys requirements and took the wheelchair. Washington Crossing State Park is huge, I knew there'd be no way that I'd be able to walk the entire park. I walked when I could and sat when I needed. Unfortunately, I needed to sit more than I was able to walk. By the end of the day I couldnt walk at all. That's right. I overdid it as usual. But I dont care. I was worth it. We had a great time.

My favorite part of the day was the live re-enactment of the Battle of Monmouth. Son #3's favorite parts were the cannons. The fair featured 2 exhibits with cannons. One was a Civil War cannon, the other was a Revolutionary War cannon... both were fired regularly by men in full period uniforms. His other favorite parts were the WWII weaponry displays and the blacksmith. As I as uploading the pictures from his camera to our familys photobucket page I started to worry. All of his favorite parts involved weapons of some sort. I told myself that he's 12 and it's normal. I hope I'm not wrong.

He got to push a horse plow and took a ride on a wagon. They played games that the kids played in the 1800's. He liked this game called Graces so much that I bought him one to take home. He got home, opened the package and went outside with his friend who'd also come with us. 15 minutes later they'd lost one of the hoops and broke the other one trying to get the first one out of the tree :)

There was also an archaeological display there. They sectioned off parts of an empty field and buried musketballs and other small metal fragments. Then they give the kids geiger counters and lead them through the "battlefield". The kids are given the opportunity to "dig up" these treasures, wash them off and identity their finds. They even gave the kids Junior Archaeologist certificates with their name on it.

Son #2 had his favorite parts too. He loved the canal ride, he loved watching how the first photographs were taken and developed on glass, he enjoyed the battle re-enactment too. But I think his most favorite part of the day came when he was pushing me back up a hill from the canal ride. One of the participants of the fair walked past us dressed as a 1900's farm worker, he looked like an extra from Little House on the Prairie. I had been teasing him "come on, say it with me... I think I can, I think I can". The guy laughed and asked if he wanted help. #2 looked up at him and said "sure, it's your turn". The guy jumped behind him and pushed us all up the hill, the 2 of them running a woman in a wheelchair up a hill. I havent heard him laugh like that in years!

My diet? I had no breakfast then half a turkey sandwich for lunch. As we passed the food section (complete with stand for authentic period cuisine) the kids wanted shish kabobs. OMG they smelled good. I bought each of them and I'm sorry to say that i gave into temptation and ordered myself a pork kabob. I was proud of myself for passing up the burgers, hot dogs and hand churned ice cream until we got to the funnel cakes. Temptation once again got the better of me :(

Before we left in the morning, I'd taken chicken out of the freezer for dinner. But it was almost 7:00, we'd been driving for 2 hours and I had just found the parkway, we were still over an hour from home (yes, I got lost). I stopped at a rest stop where they had a Burger King. They each got sandwiches and shared an order of fries. Me? I got a container of sliced apples and cheddar cheese chunks. I even threw away the little container of caramel sauce for the apples. I dont know how many calories that was but my hope is that it was low enough to offset the funnel cake.



On the drive down it was raining, I kept driving and hoping. It rained for his treasure hunt but then the sun came out and the rest of the day was gorgeous. It took us an hour and 10 minutes to get there and almost 3 hours to get home. Of course, once I got home they practically had to carry me up the stairs. From there it was straight to bed for the rest of the night and today even my hair hurts. But it was worth it.

All in all it was a great day. We learned a lot and we laughed a lot. I got out of the house, spent all day outside and I even forgot all the other bullshit that fills my life every other day. I wasnt the woman who cant support her family, the one who cant find a job, pay the bills or walk down the stairs. I was MOM and I'd almost forgotten how that felt.