Holiday Parades Are Fun

So today we took part in our towns yearly Holiday Parade. Our church has a float and last year we were ‘invited’ (read strongly encouraged) to participate in it. A member of the even church bought our family sweatshirts so I took the boys as Anthony had to work. I knew nothing about this parade and found myself depositing the boys on the float to ring bells and walking the probably 2 miles in the cold, handing out candycanes. Great fun. You would think that this experience would have helped me to be more prepared this year. Never so. On the up side, Anthony got the morning off and was persuaded to accompany us. On the downside, it was probably 30 degrees (if that!) and even colder with the windchill. Needless to say - it was FREEZING. Of course, being the wonderful mother that I am, I completely forgot to have the boys put on multiple pairs of socks and was just rushing them to get their shoes on and get out the door. We did bundle Jens up in a snowsuit and a super fabulous carseat cover (thank you, Sara!) but after 40 minutes of standing out by the float even he was looking cold. The boys were frozen before our line even started moving. Here is a picture of the three of them and Emmanuel’s friend. Do you think Wyatt looks happy to be there? ;)

Do you recognize Christian's scarf, Sarah?

So at the last minute a couple of church members decided that Jens did in fact look cold and deposited him in the back of the truck that pulled the float. As there were two older gentlemen riding in the truck it was decided that I should ride along - just to make sure there were no accidents as two men tried to console a crying 4 month old while pulling a trailer full of children down the very packed streets. I felt guilty sitting in the warmth of the truck while my children rode out in the cold and my husband walked along handing out candycanes (which he swore he wouldn’t do) but as my feet began to thaw and therefore hurt, I became more and more concerned about the state of my childrens feet. Throughout the parade I had visions of small toes turning purple with frostbite and wondering how cold your toes could get before they doctors tell you ‘they must be removed’! The news story would have great - Mother rides in warm truck while children lose their toes to frostbite. When we finally returned to the fairgrounds and Anthony ran for the car, a church member was kind enough to take off Christian’s shoes and start rubbing his feet - they were ice!
Of course, we all returned home in one piece, ten toes on each child’s feet, and though little faces are beginning to show the effects of the cold wind, all were happy after being loaded up on burgers and fries. Ahh yes, good times in small town America.