Dear Addie,
It all started like any other outing with the family in the last 16 + years of parenting, with packing a diaper bag and while I never really imagine that at this point in my life I’d still be doing this – here we are. It’s not all bad though, no one ever goes hungry because I legit always have snacks ready for the taking. Now admittedly I never really conformed to the traditional diaper bag, I for one have always preferred a backpack, but honestly, it’s all the same - a bag of supplies for any and every “what if” that could happen with kids. Now ask any parent of a child with “different needs” and I think we’d all agree that rolling luggage or dare I say a five-piece luggage set might actually be more appropriate - but I digress.
It was a Saturday morning and big brother Gabe was scheduled to perform with his aerial troupe at a local festival. With daddy setting up for a full day of home renovations, and Clara at a friend’s house it meant we were in it to win it for the duration of this festival supporting Gabe & friends. A festival mind you that was surely going to be full of our traditional sensory assaults, but with options of anything else limited and a promise I made at the beginning of the year to really go forth and live in this life & try whatever we could (reasonably) we decided we were going to dive headfirst into this and just be as prepared as possible. You know really taking that “exposure is Key” advice head-on.
Alright, so Gabe was scheduled to be there with his troupe dazzling the crowds from 10 am – 5 pm and I was about to be put to the test on preparations of my said “diaper bag” for a 7-hour day outside with questionable weather.
We got this! …maybe.
Gabe was feeling good, our bags, yes bags we took two, were packed and we were off for 7 hours of festivaling - I made that word up btw 😉.
As we arrived the whole scene felt a little overwhelming until we were directed to our location in which I was able to park like 50ft from our performance spot – score! We settled into a picnic-type spot on the ground, catching a piece of shade, unpacking our sensory toy extravaganza and snacks while observing the venue. It wasn’t long before our first obstacle would present itself located directly across from us was the petting zoo, you know the farm animals that you have a love/mostly hate relationship with?! Yep, not an ideal situation – like at all, but I’m happy to report that perhaps you were confused by the pink hair and party hats the llamas adorned that this was a non-issue the entire day. Crisis averted – score! I’ll take it! Who knew dressing llamas up in embarrassing tiny hats & tinting their locks was all it took to keep you calm?! Ok then…
Next up was the bounce house next to us. Ah yes, the bounce house. A place where you feel waiting in line is genuinely optional and you clearly think you hold a “VIP I may bounce all-day non-stop status” at. Again, a non-issue and you never even asked to jump. Ever. Hmmmmm, this was going really well, I was starting to wonder if you were playing me and an epic scene was bound to unfold?
The troupe went on to perform to a number of different songs that you would’ve immediately requested us to change if we were in the car, you watched others in close proximity eat ice cream without ever trying to steal it (Gabe shared some of his with you), we only used 5 of the 6 pull-ups I packed and with the car being so close I was able to change you privately in there. Side note: one of the many talents I’ve discovered I possess from this journey is being able to change diapers, pull-ups, and clothes in a small space like the back seat of a car of my child who is now bigger than me quickly and efficiently! We all have our talents, right?! In your defense, two of those pull-ups were from the rain. You were sitting under a tent when the rain came and your chair was strategically placed in such a way that the runoff was going directly down your back. You love the rain so you didn’t care, but we were really pushing the limit on testing the absorbency of how much water those pull-ups could truly handle. As for the weather – mother nature seemed a bit unsure if she wanted it to be sunny or raining. Ultimately the day ended just shy of 7 hours when a thunderstorm rolled in.
Addie, besides you getting a little antsy around the 5 ½ hour mark and making a run for it a few times, of course, you rocked this festival, and I’m happy to say our diaper bag was packed to perfection for this day. When we got in the car to head home, I couldn’t help but be just so unbelievably proud of you and even Gabe unprovoked mentioned how well you did.
While Gabe & friends dazzled and awed the crowd like only they know how to do, you baby girl truly dazzled and awed me with your demonstration of patience and genuine joy in staying almost 7 hours at an outdoor festival.
I’m not sure if this is a new calm season of life for us or what, but I’ll take it.
Great job Ad!
Love,
Mom
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