It Was A Beautiful Day, Except.....

I'd been looking forward to Canada Day since last year. My kids are older now and have lives of their own, so last year I was all alone and biked down to the local fair (that's turned into quite an event). I've been going for 30+ years and, although it used to be a little community festival, it's now gone big time. Even CBC radio was there, capturing some of the entertainment. This year I'd decided that I really wanted to make it a "family affair" and had arranged for us all to go together. Sounds great, right?

It started out disastrous, right from the word go. My daughter had a very sore throat, which now has her looking like a strepasaurus rex. She wasn't going to come along, but I persuaded her (before I realized she was as sick as she is). We picked up my mother-in-law and niece and headed out. My son and his girlfriend were also with us. That makes 6 of us (4 adults) in my 5 seater Volvo. Hot + Cramped = Cranky. We made our way down to Steveston and parked at my parent's house. This was because they'd been advertising "no parking anywhere" on the radio - making our plan to walk the mile or so from my parent's house to the event. We got about 18 steps before my mother-in-law decided "she'd had it" - it was too hot and she couldn't go on (she's a bit of a drama queen). We made it up the street to DQ and went in, to try and come up with "Plan B". She ordered a cheeseburger and we'd decided that I'd drive her home, as the intense heat was unbearable for her (she lasted 8 minutes, I think. This was despite the fact that she had the world' biggest fucking sun hat/umbrella on).

I walked back to my parents to get the car, then returned to DQ to pick up "mum" and drive her home. The kids were going to wait at DQ for me to get back, then we'd proceed to the fair. As I pulled into the DQ parking lot, my daughter came out, informing me that the woman working behind the counter was a mean old bat who'd refused to give nannie a seedless bun and was just downright being rude. Mum (Joyce) can't have seeds (allergic), so I was upset by this. I went in to the restaurant and confronted the woman. Her attitude stunk and she was very smug and cocky, so I explained that her rudeness and refusal to cooperate was total crap. By this time my kids and mum had stepped outside, as they'd had enough of "Cynthia". I made my point and turned to leave when I heard her mumble about me to her co workers. Then they all laughed. I stopped, looked back, then exercised good restraint in carrying on out the door. When I got outside to my family, they then reported that they were now pointing at us and laughing from inside. My son's girlfriend also told me she'd witnessed the same bad attitude when she noticed there was no tp in the washrooms and had asked for some to be placed in them.

Ha, ok. Back in I stormed (I'm not real good at anger management). I tore a strip off Cynthia, who seemed to enjoy every single minute of it. I told her I'd lived up the street for years and had watched as that DQ was built - that this was home to me (why that mattered?...don't know but, at the time, I felt it did). Her attitude was one that I would've loved to wiped the floor with, but again I used good judgment, vented and stormed out. In a move I'd never see myself doing and would look down at others for, I unwrapped my food and threw my wrapper on the ground as I left. "Hhhmm, take that". (What an idiot I am)

We got in the car and drove my mother in law home and then to the fair (by this time we were able to find a viable route and parking and the vent was nearly over!). We finally parked and got out of the car, at which point I asked my son where "my stuff" was (meaning my bags of extra clothing, water bottles, etc.). I'd asked him to watch them at DQ while I went to get the car and we quickly realized we'd left it there, back at DQ hell. After my big commotion and Oscar deserving garbage performance, we had to return to the DQ. I considered leaving the stuff there, but wouldn't as my son's Pearl Jam t-shirt (from the concert) was in there and damn if we're giving that up. An exercise in humility was about to unfold.

As we drove back I imagined what they'd done to my bags. Stuck 'em in the grease trap? Used them to wipe around the garbage? I also ran through how I'd handle it. Would I go ninja on their asses and jump the counter? Is murder still illegal?

It was a long drive back (or so it seemed). We arrived to find my bags still sitting on the seat, right where we'd left them and so, slinked in and back out with them.

We finally arrived at the fair about an hour before closing. Rides were five bucks each and I splurged for 4 before I had to put the reins on. Property tax time means a tight budget. When my daughter and niece found a way to "freeload" on the rides, I went along with it. Normally I'd lecture them on how that "isn't right" and "people should pay for things they want". This day I said "fuck it, go for it". And I sat on the curb and watched them make themselves sick on twisters and loop-de-loops. I burnt to a crisp and we went home dehydrated (the water got hot) and headachey. Yeeha.

We'll do it all again next year.