T-Minus 70:11:09

If all goes according to plan, in approximately that much time, Cable and Parker will set foot on the grounds of their second Pumpkin Festival adventure. Ahhh, the Pumpkin Festival: Just one more of the fabulous wonders of childhood only a small town can offer. In addition to the rides, the treats, the wacky games and silly prizes, it's a celebration of The Pumpkin, since my hometown of Morton, IL is, after all, The Pumpkin Capital of the World. More to come on this, because it is really one of my favorite things of all time, and it's quickly becoming one of the boys' too.

And just in case I forget to point this out later, I marvel at the fact that (excluding the ticket prices), the Pumpkin Festival has not changed -- at ALL -- since I was a kid. They have kept most of the same rides, and they're even set up in the all right places, and I appreciate that kind of consistency.

And in addition to those things, the Pumpkin Festival trip is the means by which I coerce my children into some semblance of self-control for the week leading up to this pilgrimage. It is the carrot I dangle before their sweet, precious noses. It is how I treat myself to three, possibly four consecutive mornings of children dressing themselves without incident, children pleased with the contents of their lunch boxes, children getting into the car having reached a peaceful agreement with regard to who sits behind Mommy on the way to school, and children who can bravely tolerate the slightest twist in a seat belt without a protest.

You know I've been capitalizing on this incentive strong and steady, since this was overheard in our house tonight (Parker to Cable):

"Well that's not the behaviooh of a boy who wants to go to the Pompkin Vestibal, Ca-bol..."