The second day, although Splig made it to his gymnastics performance (slathered in sunscreen, I should add,) his shoes did not. Husband and the Cat doubled-back to the house to retrieve them in anticipation of us spending the evening enjoying the Fair. Unfortunately, the Fair closed about two hours before we would have anticipated (a 6pm closure, really?) and Splig's gym was the last performance of the day. No rides, no fun, no smiles. (Well, except Splig did very well at his gymnastics.)

The third day, Splig didn't have a performance, so we just enjoyed the Fair. The highlight for Splig was finally getting the coveted dolphin. The Cat suddenly decided that he really wanted a dolphin, too, but soon revised his desires to obtain a light-up bubble blower.

Last night, our family was pretty carefree. And then today, life came back.

I was happy about seeing a childhood friend at the Fair. This morning, I got an email informing me that another childhood friend had succumbed to colon cancer, leaving behind a wife and three young children. While I hadn't seen him in decades, the tears flowed out of selfish fear of growing up, and recognition of vulnerability. Just last night I had been worrying about several trips this summer when I'll be leaving my family at home. I get really nervous when the three of them are alone together, for fear that "something happens." In the last year I've learned of the deaths of several faces from my childhood; we are no longer children.

And last week, the Cat's teacher gave us a glowingly positive report about his third grade adventures. He's come so far. Splig has done excellently in kindergarten, too. My boys seem happy and well-adjusted. But I've always held my breath, knowing that puberty can throw things into turmoil, particularly for "high energy," stubborn, and super-sensitive kids like mine. Reading about Henry Grandju this morning made my chest tighten. I know "good kids" who have fallen into addiction, but thankfully they've been pulled from the brink. More tears came, again selfish, for fear of how my children grow up, and how I hope they make the right choices.

I know I'm not supposed to "borrow trouble," but hearing of these two deaths has definitely caught me off-guard.

(And then Tipper and Al? Let's not get started on that.)

Today was going to be just a reflection of enjoying the sparkly rainbow dolphins in the world. But it has become more of a ferris wheel, bungy-bounce, or frog hopper, where things can go UP and DOWN and flip around.