Tuesday, October 28, 2008

almost a catastrophe

When I plan things to do with Wesley, I always try to "talk them up" a few days in advance. I'm not sure why I do it - it's bound to backfire on me someday soon. And it almost did yesterday.

There is a corn maze/petting zoo/pumpkin patch about 50 minutes from our house. We didn't do it last year because Wesley couldn't even walk but I thought this year he would really enjoy it. And since my mom was in town, I thought she might like to go with us. So all weekend long, I've been telling Wesley that on Monday we were going to go to a special place with a giant cornfield that we would walk around in and he would get to pick out a pumpkin and there would be lots of animals he could pet, which to a two-year-old is almost better than your very own pony.

I told Bryan to hurry through his work so he could go with us. It was pretty windy but we all bundled up and got in the car. Poor Bryan had to fold his 6 foot 3 inch body into the back seat between the two carseats. We drove the 50 minutes to the corn maze, talking about it to get Wesley excited the whole way.

When my mom turned into the place, I started to get a little worried - there weren't any cars in the parking lot. Not one. Zero cars. It was like a flashback to the movie National Lampoons Vacation - the one where they drive across the country to "Wallyworld" only to find out the park is closed.

There were two men talking in front of the big barn so I told my family to wait while I checked to make sure we could go. I considered working up some tears as I approached.

I walked up to the men and asked, "Are ya'll open?" (I'm learning to speak the dialect here quite well...)

"No, maam, we aren't," was the reply.

Gulp. I hadn't even thought to call and make sure they would be open. I just assumed - I mean, this is the week before Halloween, right? How could they not be open?

I honestly can't even remember what I said next but it was something like, "Are you kidding?" The man explained that they are only open on Thursdays thru Sundays. My eyes just about fell out of my head. I told the man, "I'll just go back to the car and tell my two-year-old son...and my husband...and my mom who flew here from Ohio...and she only has a month to live...are you sure we can't go? If we are really fast?"

He let us go. I mean, it wasn't really much of an imposition since all the stuff is outside and we still paid and everything but he really didn't have to let us go and he did so for that I owe him something really big. Like a kidney. Because I'm not sure what would have happened if I had gone back to that car and told my family it was closed. Just kidding about the cornfield and the pumpkins and animals you can pet, Wesley. I don't want to think about how that would have gone.

I guess I should have learned something from this experience - perhaps to call ahead, or to not talk things up so much until I know they will happen - I don't know.

Hey, if anyone hears that Halloween is cancelled, please let me know. Because I've been talking that up, too, and I don't think even a kidney will save me next time.

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