Indolence Day

Dearest Rachel –

So here’s the setup; with our bellies full of Mississippi pot roast, so we wouldn’t be tempted by the blandishments of the various vendor stalls throughout the midway (although that wasn’t the purpose behind such a meal; it was Thursday evening, after all, and Daniel and I have that standing invitation so Mom can stay in practice with her cooking skills – although sadly, you never got a chance to try this particular dish, as it didn’t enter her repertoire until recently), we made our way as close as we could to the park where the village’s annual Frontier Days festival was being held. I thought we could check it out together for once, and maybe invite the gang to join us there at some point. After all, with work commitments not being a factor, wouldn’t this be a relatively easy thing to do?

As it happened, the cars on the side of the road came into view long before one could spot the carnival rides…

…so we had to walk several blocks, from Daniel’s first middle school to the park itself. I’m not sure which part of the walk was longer, the one to the park, or the one in it from the main entrance to the new area behind the ballground (which was serving as the festival seating for the evening’s concert). And while both of us are accustomed to walking long distances these days – Daniel apparently continues to do so at nights now and again – neither of us were in our best shoes suited for the purpose. Oh, we’d survive, but we hadn’t been prepared for it, that’s all.

We weren’t prepared for the crowds, either, despite the fact that we probably should have. After all, we couldn’t find a parking place for blocks around the place; what did we expect, a wide open field?

As it wasn’t packed like a Tokyo subway car (although I have to admit that my experience with them doesn’t line up with the stereotype, either), that wasn’t so much offputting as just something to get used to; like culture shock in one’s own backyard (which by itself is a little shocking). It did serve as further discouragement toward any of the available attractions, though, as the lines to basically everything stretched for a considerable distance. Maybe not so much as a Cedar Park roller coaster at peak season, but surprisingly long for something that could only accommodate a handful of people with each cycle. So not only were the rides and the food more expensive than I still feel they have a right to be (although if people are willing to pay what they’re being charged, the vendors are perfectly entitled to charge those prices. That’s capitalism for you), I’d have to wait long enough to question whether I felt any of it was worth my time and money. Needless to say, Daniel and I kept walking throughout the rest of the park.

Now, Daniel may not have noticed it (or if he did, he didn’t comment upon it), but what struck me was how so many people were paired off or in family groups. This has a unpleasant tendency of reminding me of what I no longer have. Sure, Daniel and I qualify as a “family group,” too, but it’s just not the same dynamic, and you know it. After overhearing one too many couples giggling observations about this or that in passing, I was more than ready to move on, if it weren’t for the possibility of the others joining up with us yet.

We basically made our way around the perimeter of the park, including a pass through the food tent, making note of some of the providers, and where they were located in real life. We might be heading to Palatine for some Asian-Mexican fusion in the near future, for all I know. But, as full as we were, it wasn’t worth considering at the time.

By the time we’d made a full circuit of the place, we’d gotten enough text messages to make it clear to us that, for all the folks surrounding us, we were not about to run into anyone we knew. Logan had tried, to his credit, but like us, couldn’t find a suitable parking place – and unlike us, he gave up and headed home.

Which, at that point, is what we decided to do as well. Besides, we were both getting a little footsore and thirsty (although when I suggested that we stop at a 7-11 in lieu of buying one of those mix-your-own slushies at the festival, Daniel demurred, saying he’d be just as happy with a tall bottle of ice water. You raised him right, honey). I’m not sure if it was completely dark by the time we got home, but it was enough that I fell asleep just trying to watch a video (not with Daniel, though, as he went to hang out with Logan for the remainder of the evening, only stopping by – and startling me awake – whenever he decided to call it a night).

At this point, you’re probably wondering where the title of this letter comes from, and what the ‘setup’ I mentioned at the beginning is setting up for. Well, that’s just it; while I woke up – as usual – at five in the morning, I wasn’t feeling like getting up at that point. Besides, being a holiday, I wasn’t sure when (or if) the gym would be open today – no sense walking there and finding the place locked up tightly. So I decided to give myself a little more time to rest. That “little more time” turned into several hours, in fact – and yet, when I finally surrendered to consciousness, it was still pretty dark out; whether it had rained or not wasn’t clear (if you’ll pardon the expression), but it sure looked like it was going to.

So after last night’s walk around the local festival, I decided to turn Independence Day into Indolence Day instead. Hey, one is free to make one’s own choices – including the choice to not do anything – now and again. Besides, it isn’t as if I hadn’t been there, seen that, and even dragged Daniel there. I think I could just take the day off… after letting you know about it first, of course.

And that’s pretty much it, honey. Not much to tell about today, after having checked things out yesterday. There may be this nagging sensation in the back of my mind that I should be doing something more with my time, because the holiday only comes around once a year, but it feels like too much effort to bother, so why put myself through it if I don’t want to? I’m sure I’ll still have something to tell you about by tomorrow in any event, but for now, even though there isn’t much going on (by design and by choice), keep an eye on me, and wish me luck. I’m sure I’ll still need it.