Children Come in All Sizes

Sometimes it's obvious who the children are at Papa's Pumpkin Patch. They are small people with absolute delight written across their foreheads from the moment they enter the patch. They can hardly contain themselves, and there is an immediate rise in the atmosphere's energy level. Their feet are in motion and their voices are cranked up well before their brains engage. They leap and romp and skip and pounce just like children are supposed to do.

Other children are less obvious. We see both male and female versions at Papa's although size and facial expressions are not a tell-tale sign of these "children." At first they are almost always reserved; they stand back for awhile and assess the environment before they commit. They also monitor closely the responses of the other "children" in the area to see what kinds of behavior might be acceptable.

And some, not all, set their better judgment aside and proceed to do something they haven't done in perhaps years. These older-than-average children play.

It's true. In the 26 years Papa's Pumpkin Patch has been around, we've seen real-live adults skip through pumpkin paths. We've seen law-abiding citizens crawl on their hands and knees through tunnels in our Infamous Bale Maze. And we've seen perfectly normal parents shoot down Slide Mountain and shriek louder than the children before them as they plop on the ground at the end of the slide.

Being responsible pumpkin patch people, we conduct a thorough review before children of all sizes leave the patch. Invariably, the adults look to the children with them when we ask, "What did you like best at Papa's?"

The bright red faces with sweat-lined brows tell us about their favorite expeditions while at Papa's. And you know what? We can always tell the older-than-average children: they are the ones attempting to tidy themselves but can't seem to wipe the grin off their face.

See you soon at Papa's!

Papa