Pie Day on a leash

Quite a few things have come out of Braham, MN that the world should be happy about. Egg beaters were made there, the pooper scooper was invented there. I think that the best thing to come out of Braham is Braham Pie Day, although, I can image that if I had a dog the pooper scooper might move up on the list for me.

Braham was named the 'Homemade Pie Capitol of Minnesota' in 1991 by Governor Rudy Perpich (the very same guy who starter the Perpich Center for Arts Educaion, really was he an angel in disguise?) Since that proclamation Braham has held an annual one day pie festival in August. And it is great. I love it.

It was a wonderful day. And exhausting. Why? Mr. Not Hideous is the director of Pie Day, and me, I'm the secretary and co-coordinator for the Kids N' Berries tent. So, yeah, we were a little busy.

I spent the morning with Goosey in our Kelty backpack as I went between the hospitality room, Kids N' Berries tent, main stage, and the storage locker, all the while trying to remember to check the answering machine every half hour.

Mr. Not Hideous was unable to find himself a golf cart to borrow for the day, so instead he had the motorcycle out and was driving that up and down the length of the three block park. (He was definitely NOT hideous riding around all morning!)

The afternoon was a little less hectic, but still filled with stops to the stage, kids n' berries, talking with random craft fair vendors who showed up late and didn't know where they were supposed to set up, checking the answering machine, and running in to relatives from Oregon and Washington.

Mr. Not Hideous' Mom, Shopping Queen, was staying with us, so I could leave Goosey with her on my perpetual trips out of the apartment. Now, Shopping Queen loves Goosey. Absolutely adores her, but Goosey doesn't seem to have quite the same feelings for Shopping Queen. Every time that I came back into the apartment I was greeted by the sounds of Goosey crying. No matter how long I had been out. That was another reason I felt like I walked ten times faster than normal all day long.

On one of my walks between the apartment and the festival I ended up behind one of the other in town families with a young child. I have seen them around town a lot, and usually they have their daughter, E-R, in a stroller, but she has just learned how to walk. So instead of a stroller they had one of those monkey-backpack-leash things on her. It was the first time in my life that I have actually thought that the monkey-backpack-leash is an invention worth thinking about.

In the past, whenever I would see parents using leashes for their children my reaction was always the same. 'What sort of stupid parent would need to put a leash on their child?!! Can't they just teach their child to listen? Don't they know how to talk to their kids? Kids are not animals!!! I will NEVER be one of those parents! I will be aware enough to not use one, blah, blah, blah...'

After having spent months seeing E-R with her parents and watching her Dad out on walks with her, I have been humbled. He is a wonderful father, and has so much patience for little feet learning to walk and explore the world on a whole new level. I know that he has the capability to talk to E-R with respect and if anyone could figure out how to get their 16 month old to listen and walk out in public without a leash, I'm sure it would be him. So, I'm eating my thoughts, and apologizing to the countless parents who have given themselves a break and bought a monkey-backpack-leash thing.

Did I mention that I'm thinking about buying one of the monkey-backpack-leash things? Goosey is walking already, and I like her too much for her to have free reign over busy streets. Not to mention crowds where little feet have a way of finding all the small places to slip away.

So sorry for being a self-righteous twenty-something and thinking that my few years of life-without-child could magically know better.

I'm sure there will be some Pie Day when I will have the child on leash look going for me.