A Summer Carnival Carol

In the moments that morning rush hour took to progress beyond the carnival setup in the park, the sight through John’s sedan windows transported him through the past, present, and future, much like Scrooge’s ghosts (except outside of Christmas) Early in the day, the lot was closed to visitors, the kiosks were closed, the rides were still, and the festive lights were off, but John couldn’t help seeing its life. Much less his life in the carnival’s liveliness.

The city’s Summer Carnival event kicked off the season since the nineteen-fifties. The tradition started when his own parents were teenagers. His father talked about how he entertained several dates there (before meeting his mother), and John recalled his own more carefree days when he’d hang out with his friends there, sweating off face paint, burning pocket money on snacks, riding the scrambler rides till they puked, competing with one another at the games for the cheap prizes or goldfish that lasted a week.  Move forward several more years after starting his own family, he took his own children when they were big enough to enjoy it.. His favorite old photo was of his wife and children together on the Ferris wheel.

 Where had those days gone? He longed, returning his focus back to the road. They seemed so distant and faded so slowly he had to rack his brain for the reasons.

I think it started with the company merger three years ago, he concluded. My son, Jeff, was ten and my daughter, Nicole, was eight. The previous company spent a year in an overhaul getting ready to officially onboard with the bigger business fish. As a team lead, he was obligated to be more on-call than normal to assist with any kinks in the transitions. He remembered being at the carnival physically that summer but spending most of his time in the picnic shelter, relaying calls for troubleshooting issues in the office.

 After the switch-over, he was promoted to an executive position, which meant more to oversee, of course, especially as he led an “old guard” into new corporation territory. Several of his workdays couldn’t end until some proposal was complete, numbers were crunched, or some plan was approved. That summer, he lived at work, even after setting up a home office. The blue skies of June weekends fell on him in meetings or his nose to the computer or official documents. It started to pain him seeing the family off to the carnival from a lonely house on beautiful evenings. New business policies wouldn’t develop on their own, much less without him though.

He hoped the following summer would offer some reprieve as the merger started to find its feet, but as early as the end of the year, obligations in his executive position already booked the following summer’s agenda with travel conferences. He hoped some silver lining would come with a family conference retreat in Florida (which was scheduled at the same time as the carnival at home. The family wasn’t too thrilled at the thought of missing it, even for Florida). More still, when lockdowns and restriction went into effect, John secretly hoped the conferences were canceled, but most of them merely reorganized over Zoom and virtual format. The mandates also entailed the carnival’s cancellation that year, for the first time in its seventy years. Though it was the last thing on John’s mind, he felt like there was nothing left to look forward to that summer. Was this the price for leading part of the company?

As restrictions lifted within the last few months, the carnival was approved for the year and expecting to have a bigger turnout than ever. On the other hand, John’s business was transitioning back to full-time, in-office work as well, which is where he was headed this morning. Ahead of him was another day of meetings, paperwork, memos, and messages to attend. A day that was not unlike others over the past three years; life he had given to his work and would never get back. His kids were becoming teenagers. Jeff would start high school and Nicole middle school soon. Opportunities for quality time with his wife had become rare. While he was at home, at best he saw her in the mornings as they woke up and at night before they went to sleep. The rest of the day, he was at the physical office or in his home-office all day. They all tried to be supportive and understanding, but ultimately, they were starting to grow distant. He worried about his family permanently fracturing if he didn’t get off the corporate treadmill soon, but at the same time, he had competitive pay and benefits through his job, some of which he earned through a combination of sixteen years altogether with his company and his present position. He couldn’t afford to lose too much with his kids potentially going to college in a few years. What he’d give for at least a summer carnival with them again….

“…Well, team, we’ve made quite a journey over the last three years,” crooned a chief officer running one of the first meetings of the day about company goals, plans, and propositions, “We realize you’ve had to adapt to a lot of things quickly, maybe even make some sacrifices, so we applaud your flexibility in maneuvering the hurdles. As a way of appreciation and celebrating how far we’ve come, the company is now sponsoring the summer carnival, so associates and families have free admission!” The whole conference room cheered. All the staff loved the carnival and the idea of supporting it. “We hope to see you all there tonight!”

Everyone worked with a spring in their step to be done on time to attend the carnival that evening. John couldn’t wait to tell the family. He got his wish. More than that, his superiors announced the start of an internship program. With a new recruit under his wing, his personal and work lives could return to a healthier balance. Soon, he could have special times with his wife again and watch his children grow up. Familial amends would start that night at the carnival.