photos to Facebook & add a few captions and that's all I "say."
Instead of overwhelming myself and you all with the excessive
picture-posting, I'll choose a sampling.
Festival...oh, how I love Festival. After 5 years away from it we
were really looking forward to it. It's a whole new thing with kids
though - a gift and a challenge, because we couldn't do/watch/engage
everything the way we might have liked to if it were just the two of
us.
Friday night we went for supper, met up with friends for a while, and
Simon did the kids' "Glue-In" & made a wood art sculpture of sorts.
We didn't stay long, but it was a great preview of the weekend.
Saturday we packed snacks & water & diapers & headed out for the day.
Our intention was to go for a few hours in the morning, come home so
Anson could nap & we could eat lunch/take a break, and then head back
out later in the afternoon. When Anson fell asleep in the backpack we
determined to just stay till early evening & head home when it would
be just time for dinner & bedtime.
What a day! It was a very Simon-centric day. We periodically met up
with friends & then branched out on our own again. Sometimes Adam & I
would split up - half the time it was b/c I'd wait in line for one kid
activity w/ Simon while Adam & Anson waited for something else. I
think we covered all the bases with Simon though - facepainting,
Paint-In, balloon animal (or sword, in this case), hat making, ice
cream cone...
Sunday Adam gifted me with the best thing he could -- permission to
head down to Festival alone. Wow! The kids were super tired still,
and he didn't particularly care about going a second day in a row
either. I was feeling restless & crabby, overwhelmed by the house
projects but not really wanting to tackle them all either, and he
shooed me out the door. I was going to ride my bike but the tires
were flat (anyone have a bike pump? We need one.) so I drove down
again.
It's got to be one of my favorite forms of therapy for myself.
Pounding away on a piano is up there too, but heading out to be alone
in a crowd of hundreds or thousands of people is such a joy for me. I
can observe or engage however I want to - I felt present in a way that
I don't with kids. When I'm with my kids I'm fully present, but fully
focused on them. Alone I have the opportunity to engage in ways that
make me feel like an individual in community.
I talked to vendors and people I met. I sat & watched shows I never
could have held still for with the kids. I went in the museum &
looked at art & listened to classical piano music. I crossed paths
with various friends throughout the afternoon too, so I had the
opportunity to talk without interruption too. What a treat. When I
got home I was very happy to see the kids again though.
Festival though...aside from all this other stuff...Festival is a
beautiful thing. When I go to Festival (with or without the family) I
feel like part of the best of Grand Rapids. The Festival of the Arts
- how great is that? Every kind of art, some to view/listen to, some
to participate, plus diverse food options... I think my favorite part
is that it draws every size & color & shape, every race & religion &
activity, every cross-section of our diverse city, and it's all
barricaded from cars so it's like a small city packed into a few
blocks - and it's all foot traffic, which forces human interaction at
a level that doesn't happen naturally in bigger cities.
If there's an afterlife where we exist as conscious beings I hope it
resembles the Grand Rapids Festival of the Arts.
You have been sent 15 pictures.
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