Saturday

We took Punkin to the fair. We had been there on Friday, but a thunderstorm rolled through, with a lot of lightning, so we didn't let her buy the armband and do the rides. She was soaking wet from the alligator pool, so she didn't mind as much as she might have.
Saturday we went earlier, and it seemed like everyone we knew was there. Punkin galloped from ride to ride and from friends to friends, having a wonderful time. After a couple hours of this, it clouded up, and while she was on the Spider, it began to pour. She did several more enclosed rides, but decided to have one last go at the spinning bears on the way out. We stood there, in the rain, while she spun with a bunch of slightly smaller girls, chattering and laughing. I glanced over at the mother standing beside me and realized she'd been terribly burned at some point. Her calves were scarred from skin grafts, and her face was scarred badly as well. Curiousity welled up, but I repressed it, and we stood there chatting as the children spun wildly and laughed. As she collected her daughter, our eyes met, and I smiled.....then she smiled back and was gone. I stood there, blessing the rain that hid my tears, and hugged the Punkin tight.