This past Saturday, my two daughters and I spent part of the day together and had a great time. As they’ve gotten older, it’s rare that I get to spend much time with them. At the ages of 20 and 18, they usually have more interesting things to do than spend time with Dad.
But it was a day filled with nostalgia for all three of us. To start with, we went to a local pumpkin patch. This particular pumpkin patch hosts a “fall festival” every weekend. There used to be more to it than there is now, but we took in all they had to offer anyway as we took a hay ride, made our way through the corn maze, shot some apples from the apple launcher, picked out some pumpkins, and walked through their store. When they were younger, this pumpkin patch had everything mentioned above, plus face painting, food trucks, and a playground for the younger kids.
My kids have been going since they were about 5, and the pumpkin patch announced this would be the last year they do the event, so they both made a point to go this year. After years of writing about nostalgia, it’s fun to see my kids who are grown up becoming nostalgic for things from their youth.
After the trip to the pumpkin patch, we went to McDonald’s for lunch. My youngest wanted to get another of the 2024 Boo Buckets, and I wanted to try the new Chicken Big Mac (review coming soon). As we sat there eating, I smiled inside as I watched them admire their new Boo Bucket…much the same as I did back in the late ’80s and early ’90s in their original heydey. Life is coming full circle.
And to go along with that, I sat eating a Big Mac and watching my kids, just like my mom used to do with me when we would go to McDonald’s on Saturday afternoons. The main difference now days though is the fact that McDonald’s of today looks nothing like McDonald’s of yesterday.
While our outing only lasted a couple of hours, I’m grateful for the time I got to spend with the kids, and thankful that we could all share in the wonderful feeling of nostalgia, albeit in our own unique ways.
As Ice Cube once said, “It was a good day.”
That is a heartwarming post. They grow up so fast, it is awesome that you got to do this with them, before the place ended the event. It’ll be a memory for you all. Thanks for sharing. (and after seeing the McD’s eColi news, I hope none of you got ill!)