My Big Boy

It seems like it was only a month ago that we were in Dwight for Harvest Days 2007, and yet today we were back again. It has become tradition to gather in Dwight the weekend of Harvest Days to celebrate Tim's mom's birthday and then we bring the kids to the carnival. Sammy decided that he didn't want to come along for the fun, so he stayed home with Grandma, Grandpa, and Great grandma Kruse.

We hit up Benny's usual favorite, the Ferris Wheel. Some of his cousins rode together, but he decided to ride with me. He was eager to get through the ride though, once he saw the giant slide. I had never let him go on in before, but I told him that if he was tall enough, he could go after we rode the Ferris Wheel.

So we finished the far too short Ferris Wheel ride and climbed down the stairs. Benny dutifully grabbed my hand once his feet hit the ground and we headed toward the giant slide. For those of you not familiar with the giant carnival slide, it is usually a 2 story high yellow slide that has three lanes so 3 kids can go down at once. To ensure the fastest speeds, the kids go down the slide sitting on what looks like a black potato sack. Sometimes they appear to be going so fast you would swear that the carnies secretly wax the slide in the dark of night to ensure sound barrier breaking speeds.

Benny could not walk to the entrance fast enough. We walked up to the gate and there was not a line. The friendly carnival worker, who had 95% percent of his teeth, opened the gate for Benny and he took off. I quickly followed him on along the outside of the fence calling his name. I asked him if he understood what he needed to do and he impatiently nodded his head. I told him I'd be standing right where I currently was if he needed me.

He quickly chose a potato sack from the selection carelessly strewn along the top of the fence and took off toward the stairs. In a flash, I had one of those parenting moments when you realize how quickly you child is growing up and you seem to watch them in slow motion. I watched Benny throw the sack over his shoulder and begin climbing up the stairs as quickly as his little legs could carry him, grabbing the railing that was the same height as his head with every step.

I couldn't help wondering when he had become such an independent, big boy. He still has flashes of babyhood, but for the most part, he is a big boy. He doesn't need me for much anymore, and does not like to cuddle with me as often as he used to.

I watched him make it to the top of the stairs and choose his lane. He took the sack off of his shoulder and I watched him meticulously unfurl it like a flag in the breeze. It took a couple tries for it to lay just right. Once it was perfectly laid out, he climbed on and took off down the slide. The look of sheer delight he had on the way down was worth the momentary sadness that I felt.

I was snapped back to reality when the kid in the lane next to Benny ran across his lane as Benny was nearing a stop. Benny took the boy out like a bowling pin. It was hilarious. Benny enjoyed the slide so much that he took no less than 15 trips.

I'm so proud of my big boy. While I am sad to confirm that Benny is no longer a baby, I'm so proud of the boy he is becoming.