According to my childhood diaries, my husband and I met during a school field trip to Canobie Lake Amusement Park ( Canobie Lake Park ) in the seventh grade. It's a local theme park located about an hour's drive north of Boston.
From the Ferris wheel that overlooks Freshwater Lake to that wooden roller coaster named “Yankee Cannonball” which is 90 years old, in New England, it’s hard to find a more suitable place for a romantic encounter between middle school students to begin.
We weren't childhood sweethearts. It wasn't until we were nearly 30 that we started dating. Although our reunion, falling in love, and getting married had a romantic touch, after having children, we still found ourselves immersed in the blur and chaos of postpartum life.
As we adapt to our new lifestyle, the place of romance in our priorities has been declining steadily, almost to zero. However, now that our child is about to turn 18 months old, I’m ready to let it all start again, yet my husband isn’t even aware of that at all.
To regain romance after childbirth, a lot of help is needed.
Fortunately, my parents are willing to help take care of our daughter on many weekend afternoons, giving us a little bit of our own time. But even when we're just the two of us, it's too easy for us to fall back into our usual mode of handling work and home renovation projects. We need friends to pull us out of this "mom-dad mode."
Throughout the summer, I had been planning a surprise trip to Canobie Lake Amusement Park, because I realized that it had been 20 years since we first met there. So, when two of my friends from our band mentioned they were free on a certain Saturday to go out together, I immediately called them privately, and we came up with a plan together.
It all started when friends suggested taking my husband and me to an interesting place with live music for a day—a winery that happened to be near Lake Canobee. We entered this “cover destination” into GPS, and the four of us squeezed into one car, with our swimsuits hidden in the trunk. At the last minute, we suddenly deviated from our route and, as if by complete coincidence, ended up at an amusement park.
I really wish I had captured his expression when he arrived. The only time I’ve ever seen him so surprised and happy was when I showed him the positive result of the pregnancy test.
Everything at this theme park exceeded our expectations.
The ticket price is $48 per person. Parking is free, and there's no need to queue at the entrance either. We arrived at 4 p.m., and the sunlight was sparkling on the lake surrounding the amusement park. There were quite a few families with strollers around, but it wasn't too crowded. We stayed there for a full 5 hours, and during that time, I didn't hear my child throw a single tantrum or cry once.
What we did was exactly what a 13-year-old child would do in an amusement park without adult supervision.
We were on a roller coaster all night long. While waiting in line, we played little games like those from summer camps. We made faces in the photo booth. We participated in an activity called “Boston Tea Party”, which got us completely soaked from head to toe. We shared a basket of chicken nuggets as a snack, and then we even forgot to have dinner. We took the cable car to watch the sunset over the lake. We joked about that supposedly scary haunted house. And we competed with a group of girls around ten years old on the “pirate ship” to see who could scream the loudest.
It was a perfect date that could only appear in a PG-13 movie.
The most exciting moment was when we happened to meet a trio from Las Vegas, The Hit Collective, who were performing at the amusement park during the summer season. They sang songs from One Direction and "K- Pop Demon Hunters" for the audience, and even invited the children onto stage to take group photos with them while performing. To enhance the nostalgic atmosphere of childhood, after the show, we took a group photo with them using my disposable film camera, as if they were truly the Jonas Brothers.
Many things in the park are just like they used to be, but at 34, I’m having more fun than I did at 13. First of all, I’m no longer afraid of rollercoasters. After having a child, those brief moments of nausea seem less scary. I even enjoy when my friends jokingly encourage me to try the rides that I used to fear. And for those rides that I truly dislike, I can simply say “no” without any guilt (instead of forcing myself to ride them just to impress someone I have a crush on).
We not only feel as if we've returned to our childhood; we also realize once again that as a couple, we used to be able to have so much fun together. Holding hands, we decide together what our next project will be, as if we've fallen in love with each other all over again.
What was originally just a romantic gesture to commemorate the beginning of our friendship, turned into a time-travel journey that we will remember for a lifetime.
Author: Kristie Dickinson
