The Skillet Throw

One of the things that makes the end of the summer not so bad is the Goshen Fair.

I’ve been going to the Goshen Fair on Labor Day weekend since before I can remember.

For like over forty years.

It’s an agricultural fair that has rides and animals and competitions and food and all sorts of stuff.

The kids have also gone there since they can remember.

We had a beautiful day today.

Every year we do the same stuff.

We feed some animals.

We go to the rides.

The kids ride Avalanche.

We finish up on the big slide.

Then we watch the woodcutting competition.

We watch the horse pull, and then we check out the sheep and the cows

and the pigs.

Poor mommy pig. I remember those days.

It is usually around this time that the kids run out of gas, start to melt down, and then we leave around 3:00.

Today we were able to stay a little longer because the kids are getting older and they have more stamina and they are also interested in more things than they were back in the stroller days.

And since we were able to stay a little bit longer, I was able to do something I’ve never done before.

There is an “event” for women called the Skillet Throw.

It’s exactly what it sounds like.

You chuck a frying pan as far as you can.

One of the reasons I have wanted to do this is because there is a story about my grandmother where she got so pissed at my grandfather that she actually whipped a frying pan at him and she missed him, but she hit the wall behind him and broke the handle but she kept the frying pan because she was a Depression Era woman who didn’t throw shit away so every time we saw that frying pan we’d hear the story from someone about how Grandma whipped a frying pan at Grandpa.

It’s a funny story because my grandma was like the quintessential nursery school teacher and she was pretty quiet and super patient.

So she musta been REALLY pissed.

Anyway, I always wanted to do the skillet throw so I could tell G-ma that I could give her a run for her money in the frying-pan-throwing department.

Today I registered for the skillet throw.

I had never even seen it before, so I was nervous.

My whole family was there and everyone was watching and there are a whole bunch of other people sitting in bleachers watching and I didn’t want to make a total fool out of myself in front of my kids.

Especially the teenager because teenagers don’t need any extra reasons to make fun of their parents.

I almost chickened out.

But I coach all the members of E-School and women in general about the importance of moving out of your comfort zone as often as possible.

So I didn’t wimp out.

I did it.

And I got 4th!

AHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAA.

Of all the ribbons I’ve ever received, I never thought one would be for the skillet throw.

My grandmother would be proud.

My kids were pretty impressed.

Me?

I’M PISSED.

I missed 2nd place by a foot and 1st by about 5 feet.

If I knew what I was doing, I coulda won.

And let me tell you, there are some women who take this shit pretty seriously.

I mean, there is a reigning champion for like the last three years.

Whatever.

Next year I’m gonna chuck that skillet sixty feet and dethrone her.

If anyone needs me, I’ll be in the back yard throwing my frying pans around for the next 364 days.

In the meantime, remember these three things:

1… Doing stuff that makes you nervous is good.

2… You never stop discovering things you are good at as long as you never stop trying.

And 3… Don’t take life so seriously. And if you have the opportunity to see how far you can chuck some cookware, take it.