Next time, I think I'll stick with the fantasy and skip the reality

It was Balloon Day in our town today. Hundreds of preschool children, each dressed in a special color to designate their school, each carrying a matching balloon, gathered at the gazebo in the park for a special concert and parade. The entire park was in bloom, with flowering trees everywhere, and the masses of children and balloons set against the park' backdrop were visually striking. You could hear the sounds of laughter echoing through the park as the children ran and played, the shrieks of joy as they enjoyed the music and the chance to be outside with their friends. It was one of those beautiful, small-town moments I was dreaming of when we bought a home in this community, the kind of day I longed for during the many months when we were trying to conceive.

I smeared sunscreen on my children, tried to coerce them to eat their lunches, chased them down again and again through the crowds, dried suddenly-hysterical tears and finally schlepped us all back to the car, hot, exhausted and cranky. Balloon day, it turns out, is beautiful to behold, fun to anticipate and reminisce about and maddening to experience in the here and now. Well, aint that parenting in a nutshell?