Track and Field Day

Columbus Day dawned especially bright for me.  It was a holiday for Les and for me; but, the girls had to attend school. Because many parents were home from work, the girl's school had scheduled Track and Field Day for Columbus Day.  As is his custom, Les had volunteered to help with Field Day.  Ahhh!! For me this was shaping up to be a holiday in every sense of the word.  The house to myself?  A trip to the mall?? A good read in the coffee shop???  (To be honest, even grocery shopping alone would be a luxury.)  But, it was not meant to be.  Cassie asked if I could PLEEAASE help with Field Day, and guilt got the best of me.  However, it was also "Daddy Doughnut Day" at school.  All the kids lined up early with their dads in order to slop down juice and doughnuts in the gymnasium, and I did get about 20 minutes to myself.

The morning began perfectly -  a little cool and overcast, with dew on the grass.  Third, fourth and fifth grade Field Day was held in the morning.  Les signed us up for "the parachute."  This activity involved getting about 20 kids to grab onto the edges of a large and colorful parachute.  Then, everybody had to squat simultaneously, then rise up, holding the parachute above their heads.   Finally, everybody had to snap the parachute down and try to flick off the balls that were riding on top of it.  Here are some pictures to aid your understanding.

A group of kids (and Les) holding the parachute

Raising the parachute

And the balls go flying!

This activity was great fun for both kids and adults.  We were all laughing and screaming.  Of course, the kids weren't strong enough to do this without help from the adults.  About an hour into the activity, my body was screaming in pain.  Did I mention that we had signed up to help the entire day?

Cassie and her friends

Cassie and classmates

 When our lunch break came, we were too tired to go home.  We dragged ourselves down the street to a fast food restaurant and absorbed as much air conditioning as we could.  When we hit the field for the second half of Field Day, the temperature was almost 90 degrees.  The smaller children really didn't have the strength for the activity.  Les and I had to work harder than ever.  We were able to recruit a few more parents to help us.  Finally, the day came to an end.  

As we were packing up the equipment, I got to be the one lucky parent who was singled out by the principal because my child had gotten overheated and thrown up.  "Oh, Mrs. Minihan," she said, "The heat got to be a bit much for the little people.  Lacey just got sick."  I immediately began whooping and doing the "end zone" dance down the hallway, knocking over a couple parents in the process, because I DIDN'T HAVE TO CLEAN IT UP!!

 I felt a gentle touch on my shoulder and heard, "Oh, Mrs. Minihan!  Are you all right?" 

"Oh yes," I replied.  "The heat just got to be a bit much for the big people too."

Now, if you're thinking that I was acting a bit selfish or shallow, let me explain that I got to carry "the clothes" home, sealed tightly in a plastic bag.

Lacey perked up about 10 minutes after we got home and I got to do an unscheduled load of laundry.  

Lacey with her friends