Dodging Rain Drops

The Iowa State Fair is an annual event that my family likes to attend. We don't really do anything particular, we just like going. It started last week Thursday, but the weather was forecast to be very hot and sunny with today being comfortable in the low 80's and a slight chance of rain. You would think in my 33 years I should have learned not to trust meteorologists, but I haven't.

Thursday was a wonderful day that would have been great to spend outside. Today barely got up to 70° and rained all day, sometimes quite heavily. Nevertheless, my dad, main caregiver, and I tackled the fair despite the weather. Getting parking that works for my van is always a challenge, but we easily got to the correct lot with very little crowd. The attendant then gave us a spot that perfectly put my wheelchair lift into the largest puddle anywhere in sight.

Before getting out of the van, we started what became the day's routine. Put a poncho on to cover my chair and myself before going out and take it off when inside a building. While wearing this outfit between buildings, my caregiver and I noticed an odd behavior from people around us. They would give me an odd look (which is normal), look down at my feet, then with even bigger eyes look back at me.

I don't know if they thought my bare feet were indicative of my outfit and that I was naked under my poncho or what was going through their heads. I maybe should have asked, but no one wanted to stay out in the rain longer than necessary. With that being the case, we did go through buildings more thoroughly than normal and didn't mind waiting to see something. At the model railroad layout, we spent about half-an-hour talking with a member about his memories of steam trains and enjoyment of models.

Shortly after we returned home from paddling through the fairgrounds, the rain stopped and sun came out. The added challenge made for a new experience this year, but not one that I hope to repeat. Today's lesson in the quad life is to remember that God has made the earth with its weather systems and fallible man (like meteorologists) is still trying to understand it.