Letting Go: What I learned at the fair

I am not the most spontaneous person. Nor am I very good at living life in a "fly by the seat of your pants" fashion.

I like things planned out.

I like to know what's on the calendar, when it will happen, and what it will look like.

I'm an organized person by nature, so having structure, routine, and plans make me feel secure and comfortable.

However, as I am quickly approaching my 40's, I'm learning that while all of these traits are valuable, it's just as important to learn to "let it go, and get a little crazy sometimes."

My husband is far better at being spontaneous than I am, and after 13 years of marriage he's starting to rub off on me.

This past weekend, we followed our usual Saturday routine:

1. Brian gets up with the kids and I sleep in
2. I get up around 8, enjoy some coffee and hang out
3. Everyone gets dressed
4. We head out to a local restaurant for breakfast
5. We run errands and then come home and go about our afternoon

We follow this pattern almost every Saturday, and I love it.

However, last weekend, on our way home from breakfast, Brian spotted a sign for a local community fair and immediately did a U-turn making his way to what I felt was a dirty, dangerous, not-on-the-calendar-today kind of event.

As we drove up, the boys spotted all of the carnival rides and immediately went crazy. They were sold before we even got out of the car.

I was not.

But Brian said, "Let's just go check it out and see what things cost."

Thirty minutes later, both boys had all-day, unlimited ride wrist bands on, and we were committed to a day at the fair.

It wasn't on my "To Do" list that day.

It certainly wasn't written on my calendar.

And it was very spontaneous.

But ya know what... we had an incredible time!

The boys rode all of the rides over and over and over again.

Brian and I just stood back and watched them with smiles so big our cheeks hurt.

It was pure fun for those kids, and something they will always remember. And I'm so thankful for a husband who pulls me out of my comfort zone and drags me encourages me to try new things.

It was a valuable lesson I learned that day; and I hope to embrace more impulsive, naturally fun, unplanned moments like that in life.

Here's a little recap in pictures...

Heckmans at the Fair from Stacy Heckman on Vimeo.