Making Time

Driving a truck for thirteen or fourteen hours per day, Monday through Friday, means Saturday is usually a busy day for me. Correction, Saturday is always a busy day for me. Trying to keep everything caught up around the house is a full-time job; one that I generally spend just one day doing.

So, when my wife asked if I wanted to join her in taking four of our grandchildren to the carnival, I declined. It’s not that I don’t like carnivals or the rides, because I do. It’s not that I don’t like my grandchildren either, because I do. But I was busy.

Then, she suggested that it may be helpful to have me there to keep the kids corralled. I realized it might be a difficult job alone since some rides require small children to be accompanied by an adult. Kind of hard with that many kids, especially if the youngest one or two are too small to ride a particular ride. So, I acquiesced.

The first thing I noticed at the carnival was how many people weren’t there. Here it was, a Saturday afternoon, great weather, not hot or cold, little to no wind—and hardly any crowd at a normally crowded event. Not that the attendance level bothered me, it meant less time waiting in lines and more time enjoying the rides—not to mention less of an opportunity for the grandchildren (and me) to grow impatient and then frustrated and irritable.

We had a good time and in about two hours we’d done all there was to do. Amazing how fast things go when there aren’t hoards of people! I think the grandkids were happy that I’d joined them and I was glad I’d gone along. And two hours wasn’t going to upset my Saturday work schedule that much. Sure, I was busy but then, I’m always busy.

Walking back to my pickup, I again was struck by the fact that so few people were there enjoying the day. I still find it strange. But I think I figured out why no one was there. Maybe, anyway. Could it be that most parents and/or grandparents stayed home that day because... they were busy? ~

Bruce A. Borders is the author of more than a dozen books, including: Inside Room 913, Over My Dead Body, The Journey, Miscarriage Of Justice, The Lana Denae Mysteries, and The Wynn Garrett Series. Available in ebook at www.amazon.com/Bruce-A.-Borders/e/B006SOLWQS and paperback on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Books-a-Million.