(The story is true but the names have been changed to protect the innocent and the dramatic.)Yesterday (back in 2006) we went to the State Fair. Edith, Bunny, Mac and his best friend, Jon (from KC) and I spent most of the day there. We, girls, spent the afternoon at the exhibits while the boys rode rides, ate, and rode more rides. My oldest daughter, Edith, and I had tickets to see the live radio show, A Prairie Home Companion with Garrison Keillor. I had been looking forward to the show for months. Bunny teamed up with Mac and Jon when it was time for us to line up for the show in the grandstand and the plan was for Bunny, Mac and Jon to enjoy the fair together until the show was over. After that, we would head back to Wichita so Bunny could meet her best friends for a birthday celebration movie at 9:15. Everything seemed to be working out great, right? Wrong!
Edith and I waited in line and finally wound our way to our seats in the, nearly, sold out stadium. Since I waited so late to get the tickets (this week), our seats were not the best but we were going to have fun anyway.
About 40 min. into the 2 hour show, I notice my phone is vibrating. I'm a good mother and have provided instant access to me for my children through their personal cell phones. I decide I had better check it since it might be my children! I hand Edith my coke, put my bag under my seat, and dig in my pocket; not an easy task with people squeezed in all around me! As the first skit, (a funny rhubarb pie commercial) is beginning, I open my phone. Sure enough, I have text messages waiting for me.
There were 3 messages that I had apparently missed while in line. I guess I didn't hear my phone. (I hope you can read teenage texting) ;-)
Mac's text: 4:28pm - Call me
Bunny's text: 4:31pm - Hey please call me we cant get a hold of u
Bunny's text: 5:12pm - Hey please call me we cant get a hold of u
Then the messages start rolling in:
Bunny's text: 5:21pm - Can u please come through the refreshment stand that’s where we r
Bunny's text: 5:25pm - Please its important and we cant get a hold of u my head hurts so bad
Mac's text: 5:26pm - I am dying from the heat, call me because I just got robbed. I also have a headache and we all want to go home now.
Bunny's text: 5:27pm - We r right by the ice cream shop
OK, these kind of messages tend to make mothers a little anxious. I try to decide how to respond: "No and leave me alone, these tickets cost me $35 and I want to enjoy the show." vs. "Should I call the police or an ambulance?"
Edith insists on going to check on them so I can "stay and enjoy" the show. She squeezes through the row of people.
I wait patiently, "enjoying the show"; I can't remember a thing from that segment!
The next texts come in.
Mac's text: 5:35pm - Vending machine took my money
Edith's text: 5:36pm - They got robbed by the vending machine and Bunny’s friends are going to meet at 7:15.
Then, finally:
Edith's text: 5:37pm - They are hot and being stupid
Edith shows back up in the grandstand, after “robbing” Mac of $20 of the money I gave them, buys me a Prairie Home Companion t-shirt, and we finally enjoy the rest of the show. We leave a couple of minutes before the end of the show to meet the kids, who (surprisingly!), had spent the rest of the show riding rides and having fun! ???
As we leave the grandstand area, Bunny is rushing us to the exit as she talks to her friends on her cell. We get outside the gate just as she is hanging up. Her friends have changed their minds again and have decided to go to the 9:15 show, after all. Now, Bunny turns to me with a smile, "Do you want to stay a little longer?"
Well, I think… we saw the animals, cakes, pies, quilts, the 619.5 lb. pumpkin, scarecrows and the butter sculpture, rode the rides, ate pronto pups and drank lemonade, plus I got to watch "A Prairie Home Companion," live.
No… I think we'll just head for home.
I love my kids!
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