We started a very important stretch of the summer this past week. I really need to stay focused or everything could come crashing down around me. It’s carnival season.

Up until a few years ago, I had never visited any of our local carnivals. Then we had a kid, and I needed to entertain her somehow.

I’m totally hooked. You know those TV shows with parents obsessed with making their kids into sports stars or actors? Well, I’m gonna be a carnival Dad.

I need Bridget to love carnivals and amusement parks. Need.

I can’t remember the last time I rode a roller coaster. I can’t remember the last time I felt my heart drop to my knees. I can’t remember the last time I got off a ride and immediately got back into line.

My wife just doesn’t like those sorts of rides. That’s OK. I have come to grips with it.

Now I just have to convince the kid. The problem is that I’m impatient.

This has been three years of trains and pony carts and spinning dragons. When are we going to get to the good stuff?

I may have sworn off bungee jumping, but I really want to get spun around so much I don’t know if I am coming or going.

The other day as Bridget went round and round – very slowly – on a truck ride, she yelled something to Maria and I. We were confused at first, but then realized that she said, “That ride is too fast for me.”

She was talking about the huge wheel nearby spinning at an insanely fast speed. I didn’t know whether to worry that she might never like that ride or take comfort in the fact that at least she was checking out the big rides.

I remember the first time I went to Hersheypark. My older sister convinced me everything would be fine on The Comet. As the car slowly clicked up to the top, I had a bad feeling.

On the way down, the feeling got worse. I told her I might get sick. She informed me that was not acceptable, so I just sat back and enjoyed the ride.

When the ride stopped, we went from our car right back into line. I went from hating it to loving it in no time flat. I want to have those experiences with my daughter.

We do make an annual pilgrimage to Hershey. I walk by all the wild new roller coasters and feel my adrenaline rise. Sure, I could go on the rides alone, but what fun is that?

So I just walk from kiddie ride to kiddie ride, dreaming of the day when Maria won’t even go to the park with Bridget and me because we’ll spend the entire time going from one thrill ride to the next with only stops for pizza and ice cream in between.

Until then I make myself happy attending carnivals. I really do enjoy them because they provide so many things that amusement parks can’t.

At amusement parks, the lines are all regimented and organized. What fun is that? Carnivals provide the thrill of possibly seeing two parents get into an argument because there is anarchy at the entrance to the rides.

I also know I can always win the games at the carnivals. There is no chance I’ll come home empty-handed.

Plus, they are right here. And when my daughter is happy enough just to get a wristband, how can I ever turn her down just because she can’t go on the Tilt-A-Whirl?