Doing It Scared

I thought our weekend at the Iowa State Fair was supposed to be all about fun. Then my son bought us tickets to something I swore I’d never do

- By SHAWNELLE ELIASEN LeClaire, Iowa

Our first time at the legendary Iowa State Fair. I sat down beside my husband, Lonny, on a shaded bench near the double Ferris wheel and let out a happy sigh. We were waiting for Logan and Grant, the two oldest of our five sons. It had been years since just the four of us—aka the Eliasen Starter Pack—had been on an adventure. Grant had come in from Chicago, and we were staying at Logan’s house in Des Moines, making a weekend of it.

Our first stop at the fair had been the agriculture building. Together we'd admired the famed Butter Cow, sculpted entirely from creamy Iowa butter, a tradition since 1911 (per the research I'd done before we'd even bought tickets), and then savored hard-boiled eggs on sticks. Afterward, we'd split up for an hour, Lonny and I strolling the midway while our sons were doing their own thing.

I took the last sip of my lemon shakeup and idly poked the pale moon of lemon with my straw. “I wonder what the boys have been up to,” I said.

“Here’s Logan,” Lonny said. I looked up to see our firstborn and waved.

“Grant’s coming,” Logan said. “After the horse barn, he went off to find some fried butter.”

I smiled. Our sons were so different. Logan was cautious and deliberate, like me. Grant, on the other hand, was always looking for adventure. He soon bounded up to us. “The fried butter line was too long, but I had a sweet corn sundae,” he said. “And I found this cool old slide. It’s been here for 50 years. I bought us all tickets. Let’s go!” He stretched his hand toward me.

I didn’t take it.

The Giant Slide. I'd read about it— some 50 feet high, 170 feet long, with five bumps. The very same contraption that fairgoers had been braving since 1971. Sitting on a felt mat, zooming down the slide in five seconds flat... No thanks!

“I'll wait. You guys go ahead.”

“No way,” Grant said. “We're doing it together. Starter Pack adventure!”