Father's Day....

So yesterday was the longest day. Having said that it didn't feel particularly long. The weekends always fly by. I feel preoccupied by time-passing these days. I think I have probably always been acutely aware of the passage of time. Yesterday was also Father's Day. Mark wanted to take it easy (or as "easy" as our life gets). He slept in and then I cooked my version of breakfast burritos. Later we took the kids to a funfair that was set up at a local park for the weekend. Now you would think that a local, old-fashioned style funfair would be a great place to take pictures of the kids. And you would be right. But we forgot the camera! I got this picture of the fair from the web...

I took Bronwyn for her first ride on a Ferris wheel. The park is on a hill and the Ferris wheel was situated so that as you reached the top you could see Burrard Inlet, Spanish Banks, and across to the mountains. We anxiously waited in line and when our turn came Bronwyn rushed to get into the seat. The bar clamped down and then, whoosh, we were swept backwards and upwards. At this point Bronwyn turned white and said, "Arrgghh, I don't like it!" Of course I am actually terrified of heights...something I temporarily forgot about when I said I'd like to go on the Ferris wheel...but I tried to help her feel safe. We stopped near the top and in a quavering voice I said, "Don't worry, just look at how beautiful the mountains are. We can see everything". I don't think I instilled much confidence. Then we whooshed forwards, over the top and down the front. I said "Weeeeee" in a very weak effort to seem like it was fun. I think I would have got used to it...I have before. I used to love the ferris wheel. However, feeling your child's fear is, of course, a million times more difficult than feeling your own. I put my arm around Bronwyn and she held on to me and I could feel her heart racing and she was starting to cry. Fortunately, I caught the eye of the wheel operator. He brought us down and very kindly gave us back our tickets. Bronwyn was fine. It was scary..but exciting. I'm sure she will love the wheel in a couple of years time.

We did manage to save the day. We got her tickets to the bouncy castle/slide thing. She jumped down the slide and bounced so fast that her dress flapped up around her ears. Excited and laughing she ran up the bouncy slide and flew down a few more times. She threw darts at balloons and popped them and won a couple of stuffies. We ate sugary fried donuts and candy floss and shared some fries. We also did a mini train ride. River was nervous at first, but then he relaxed and seemed to have fun. He was in awe of all the rides and so didn't stray too far. We had a lot of fun and I am sorry that we didn't get pictures. And I almost forgot to add that Mark's is a wonderful daddy!

I just finished reading Alice Munro's "The Love of a Good Woman". It was excellent and I am looking forward to reading more of her stories. For now I am moving on to a novel, Clara Callan by Richard B. Wright. I am interested to see if I will like it. It is written entirely in journals and letters of two sisters. I'm never sure about a male author writing in the female voice (or vice-versa), though I have read some excellent books written that way. We'll see - I may not be able to resist more Alice Munro.