Took my five-year-old son, Jacob, and eight-year-old daughter, Anna, to the Tennessee State Fair last night. My ten-year-old, Ashley, didn’t want to go, so went to piano and out with Jill.
We had one free admission ticket Jacob had gotten from school, so here’s what it cost us for two hours one evening at the fair with our FREE ticket:
- Parking, $3 (not bad)
- Admission for Anna and me, $12
- Just inside admission you buy ride tickets, $20
- Immediately the kids want to pay $5 a pop to throw basketballs through hoops the size of a wedding ring – I resist both the children’s pleas and every ball barker saying, “Hey dad! Let the kids throw, they get somethin’ even if de miss . . .” $0
- Ice cream, $5
So, that free ticket cost $40 . . . and, would it be too trite to say that seeing my children smile would be worth it? Well, I can see my children smile when I tickle them or say something kind to them, so yes, it would be too trite. It was fun and we saw and experienced some bizarre things you see at fairs: a huge turtle, a kangaroo, six guys eating hamburgers to see who could eat the most, fun house, burlap sack slide, bumper cars.
What an interesting, if not half-off-its-rocker, society I’m a part of.
Ah, that’s the very reason Rob didn’t want to make use of our two free tickets — the hidden costs. But you made a nice memory for Jacob and Anna; Dad took them to the fair!