Buying Eid clothes, pleasing little children, and the accident.

Last night I took the 4 yr old and 10 yr old with me to buy Eid clothes. I had my SIL with me and her 9 yr old daughter as well. In my city, during Ramadan, little fairs come to us and open huge tents. All manners of shopping are inside those tents.....oftentimes at rock bottom prices, because many of them are direct from factory. As well as shopping...there are the rides. Tiny roller coasters, the swings and of course the ferris wheel. Games aplenty....(and probably cheating aplenty as well)

So we arrive at one of the tents....(because this year 3 fairs opened in 3 different areas). And we start looking. Alhamdulillah.....it was a good start....because we found things that were great very quickly. Something happened with my 4 yr old tho. I tried this size L outfit on her and I said to the saleslady, I'll take it. And put it on a chair.....then this woman starts walking over to me and asks me what size that is. I tell her L....and notice that she has the same outfit in her hands. She says..."give me that one". I say...I'm buying it. She says...I already bought it? WTH? HOW DID U BUY IT? I say a little too loudly....SIL walks over.

Well, I bought a size XL yesterday and it's too big...so I"m exchanging it and that's the only L.

So I says...I don't understand how that is my problem?

She goes on and on....the saleslady gets involved....and this woman is PUSHY and DETERMINED. So finally at one point I say to her....

"Look Lady.....if you are exchanging, then you have no right to take this outta my hands. You exchange for goods that are available AND THIS IS NOT....but you are being SO PUSHY....and I'll tell you this...if you want to take it...TAKE IT. But I'm not going to forgive you for it. You take it only because you are being PUSHY, not because it is your right, so do what you want, I don't care."

She was upset about what I said. VERY UPSET. She hung around the store while I tried things on the 10 yr old....and eventually snuck over and took the outfit....but I'll give it to her, that she looked worried. And then the bomb....the XL outft came with a perfectly matching orange shirt.....but the size L came with a white one. She wanted the orange. Again...not her right to have it. And she left, not feeling good about changing the outfit.....but probably feeling like a schmutz.

At one point, I realized that I was being pretty stubborn and difficult and says to my SIL...."with my attitude, I bet I'm lucky she didn't hit me, right?" And my SIL says....you were pretty tough. HAHA! Oh well....

But all that isn't what I want to write about.....

While I was paying for an outfit for Mr. Baby himself....I sent all the girls to go put some bags in the trunk of the car. Then I went looking for them....I found them standing watching the ferris wheel.

"PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE Can we go on?? PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE??? They are loading up the next round!!!"

Oh no! I said. The baby was at home, and there really wasn't much longer that I could stay away from him. I'd already been gone about 2 hours and I still had another stop to make. So with a little disappointment on their part....we left.

The fair ground tent is about 3 mins away. It's down the street and to the side. I can see the ferris wheel from the new tent area. We go inside.....and then suddenly....people are running. I look around....whats going on?? Even the sellers are frantic and leaving their goods and running. A fire? WHAT??

So I ask someone.....a seller who looks very agitated.......What's going on?

The Ferris Wheel, he says. It fell. It fell of its brackets, can't you hear the ambulance sirens?? YA ALLAH! May Allah protect them all!!

We left and looked down at the other fair grounds....we can't see the ferris wheel. I leave and we drive by....you can see the wheel is completely seperate from the piece that was holding it. For some reason...it's still standing up, but leaning way over....some of the hanging things are missing and are on the ground. There are 100's of ppl around.....and I start to cry. My girls should have been on that ride. THAT RIDE. They would have been on it. But I don't cry for what could have been....I cry for the ppl standing around on the ground.

I look up and there are ppl still in the baskets...crying....there are two men who have climbed up on the ferris wheel and are trying to calm them.....there's a lift taking the ppl down.....
....and the faces....the faces of those on the ground....crying like me....looking for their loved ones still up high.

I cried for them all....and made dua until I got home. And the Eid clothes that we bought lay there on the table. I just didn't feel it anymore...... Can't you just think of the families who lost their children yesterday? Buying clothes, like me....excited children begging "PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE??" And then suddenly........gone. SubhanAllah! Yes, some children died yesterday. They fell from the top......ya Rabbi......how my heart hurts for their families....

Inna lillahi wa inna alaykee rajeoon!