Cache County Fair

Ah, Summer. Nothing says summer to me like the Cache County Fair. The smell of kettle corn, cotton candy, and various barnyard animals in the air. The sound of children screaming on the carnival rides, and the sight of all your friends, neighbors, and family out in force, united in celebrating our country and rural heritage. When I was a little girl, I can remember my older sister and my cousins entering different craft items in the fair. I remember my sister baking a pie that looked so delicious, it was physically painful to watch it be carted off to the fairgrounds for judging. I recall as a teenager attending the fair with my mother, a special time just for us girls, that we could bond and share common interests. I remember vividly the year I got my braces off, and I wanted nothing more than a caramel apple from the county fair, as I had been denied that treat for the past two years. My mother dutifully bought me a caramel apple, popcorn, corn on the cob, and almost anything else I could imagine enjoying sans-braces. In fact, I think that was the best caramel apple I have had since then. Tonight Ammon and I are attending the fair with our children and my parents. While I know that they won't get the same experience from it that I will, I am still grateful for the opportunity to share it with them. My, how times have changed. In years gone by, my father wouldn't have been caught dead or otherwise at the county fair. This year, he informed my mother that if Ammon and 'his boys' and he calls them, are coming, then by darn, he is coming too. It warms my heart to think of the people closest to me sharing an evening in this manner. I have occasionally bemoaned the fact that we are living in the same town that I grew up. I tire of the same sights, the same people, the same experiences for almost 25 years. However, on days like today, I find comfort in the familiar, and am grateful for the chance to be safe, warm, and loved.