Happy Hayride

My cheeks hurt.

My friends and I signed up to go on a hayride and campfire outing at a farm, this evening. I was driving and sent out a note to meet at the metro station at 5:25. One of the three misread the email and called me at 5:15 to ask where I was. Just as I got there to pick her up on time, we got a text from another one saying she was running late. In fact, she was still at home. The third called to tell us she had forgotten something and was on her way back to her apartment to pick it up. We were going to miss the boat…er…hayride. Also, it looked like it was going to rain.

What ensued involved some crazy coordination, picking people up on corners, speeding down back streets and refreshing the event page to make sure it wasn’t canceled due to inclement weather, even as we were racing against the clock. Somehow we made it there just before the hayride and the other 30 people we were going with left. It was raining, but with jackets and umbrellas, this was still happening.

They hayride bumped along around the farm and we were occasionally greeted by Halloween decorations or gussied up scarecrows. The rain continued off and on while we idly chatted. By the time we got back, we were half soaked from the drizzle and chilled. The campfire was a welcome site. There were hot dogs and s’mores and wine. We intermittently huddled under umbrellas around the campfire and the small tent where the food was. 

Ok, so it wasn’t the best night to have this event that we barely made. And I can think of so many reasons why we’d feel grumpy or want to leave or not go at all. But here’s the thing. No one complained. Everyone was chatty and happy to be there, despite the circumstances. We ate, we drank, we took crazy pictures. There were lots of jokes about wieners and buns on sticks (there’s something about a campfire that brings out the inner twelve year old) and marveling at the colors of the darkened night sky. Most of all there was laughter. We laughed about our crazy car antics, about not getting there on time, about the rain and wet hay, about the heat of the fire and at each other.

Tonight reminds me that attitude accounts for so much of our experiences in life. We can think ourselves miserable or we can accept what is and go forward, anyway.