Field Day

Today was field day at Coulson's school. For people like my husband who may not know what field day is, it's a day at the end of the year when all the students go outside to play fun games and activities. Back in my day, there were standard events like a 100 yard dash and long jump, but now there are more creative games and activities like freeze tag and parachute and throwing soft foam balls at each other (there was a more of a plot to that activity, but from where I was standing, that was all I could see) and picking up marbles in a kiddie pool with their toes.

I have vague memories of my mom coming to field day when I was young, so I was looking forward to helping at Coulson's field day. Last week his teacher asked for some volunteers to help with a class picnic after the activities. I volunteered to bring something for the picnic, but somehow to the teacher, that translated into me being the main coordinator for the picnic. I was a bit frustrated because only one person replied to my emails and returned my phone calls at first. But then 2 days before the picnic, the parents finally started to return my phone calls and I was able to do some coordinating.

Field Day was fun. I lucked out because I was assigned to a water station with Coulson's teacher. Water stations are pretty much the easiest jobs on field day. It was also great to work with Coulson's teacher and get to know her better. I just wished I could have done something like that earlier in the year to get to know his teacher.

The picnic turned out great. I was worried about organizing the picnic, but I managed to delegate all the food responsibilities so that I didn't have to bring any food. I was in charge of reserving the shelter at the park (there is a park right across the street from the school and the field day activities were held at the park also). That turned out to be a big pain because I had to physically go to the recreation and parks department in the municipal building in the heart of downtown earlier this week to pay for the reservation, which involved trying to find a parking space on the street. After circling the blocks 5 times, I finally got a space a block away. Thankfully there was 40 minutes left on the meter, so I didn't have to pay! But of course Charlie fell asleep in the car and I had to wake him up and then he was sleepy so he was dragging his feet and he kept tripping on the sidewalk. So I went in SuperMom mode briefly and carried both him and Carter (Carter was in a sling) down the sidewalk. So after all that, I decided I paid my dues and shouldn't have to also bring food.

My mom watched Charlie and Carter while I was at field day and then she brought them to the park for the picnic. It was the longest anyone other than myself has watched Carter and she did a great job, although she commented - "I don't know how you get anything done!" Well, if you've seen my house lately, you'll know the answer to that - "I don't." I'm barely scraping by getting the laundry and dishes clean. Getting them put away is an extra bonus reserved for only the best of days. Anything else requires Casey to be home all day and not working, which hasn't happened in a long time.

Anyway, the picnic was a success and the kids had a great time. They were all exhausted by the end of the day. My only regret is that I forgot to take pictures!