The Advocate July - August 2006
X-ercizing - A fair to remember
By
Jul 28, 2006, 12:51

Finally everything is unpacked and put away. I feel like we are actually moved into our new house. It has, not surprisingly, taken longer than we thought it would to get everything situated.

Before we moved in to the house Jessica started a “little” project of pulling down some wallpaper so she could brighten up a rather dark kitchen. Two layers of wallpaper later and a good bit of the plaster with it, the job had turned bigger than planned. It took a week to get the walls all smoothed out so painting could begin.

Two weddings (one the weekend before we moved in and another the day after we moved in) delayed the process even more. A busy work schedule added to the delay.

Plus, the biggest part of all: I had no idea what a project this would be.

I called my Dad one evening after pulling a garbage can full of weeds out of the front flowerbed. He answered and I replied, “I should have bought a condo.”

We had a nice apartment, with a nice porch. It was clean, and though crowded, neat and organized. It didn’t seem like it took much work to keep up. I did it on my own for a long time. Then, when Jessica and I got married we both shared the responsibility.

Now it is a Herculean task to keep it clean and clutter free.

As a distraction from all the work we invited a friend down to visit and we all went to the Bourbon County Fair.

I squealed and laughed more than any adult should. We rode every ride and I was spun and turned and whipped around in every direction possible. We ate wonderful fair food. Hot dogs, elephant ears, fresh cut French fries, and ice cream. I felt like I was 10.

We saw a beauty contest, talent show, flower show, something called a baby show (where babies got ribbons for just showing up), a truck and tractor pull (I kept asking when it would start, only to be told that it was, in fact, in progress), and the 4-H area filled with foods and handicrafts. We even saw three pig races. And the very best thing of all was the High Diving Pigs.

A talking pig wearing over-alls explained that pigs wouldn’t jump unless they want to. And it was obvious that these pigs loved “diving” off the board and into their little pool. I think they were smiling, I couldn’t quite tell.

The respite was well deserved and needed. It was great to take time and just be, to shed the worries, leave the to-do list at home, and just play.

Though I found myself scared a few times on the rides; I felt safe. Though music was blaring from every ride, game, and seemingly every area of the fair, I felt quiet.

And as I sat spinning on the Tilt-a-Whirl I thought about life. How sometimes things come at you fast, and sometimes you get turned upside down, and sometimes everything seems to be spinning, and often it is fun and often scary, and most often a combination of both.

As the smell of fried foods and diesel fuel filled my nose I thought about God and church. God and vestry meetings. God and budgets. God and capital campaigns. God and politics. God and home. And God and me.

When the ride stopped and the shady looking carnival worker let us off, I wondered where God was in the details.

And when the “Carnie” reached out his arm to gently let us down and offered us a smile, I saw the answer.

God is in the simplest of the details.

Steve can be reached at xersizing@yahoo.com