©KKW 2012

Morning Frost

©KKW 2012

Still Shaking It Up

2.5, 2.0, 2.5 aftershocks in one day. Meika would like to know why the earth can't sit still. I told her it is just like her, she can't sit still either. She understood.

©KKW 2012

Transfusion

After a particularly rough day where I was feeling weak with stress, I just wanted to sit down and do nothing once home. As if by instinct, both kids cuddled up extra close to me, hugging my arms with theirs while we watched some show on tv. That little transfusion of love made all the difference and the world righted itself again.

©KKW 2011

Friday Night Lights

I just experienced my first Louisa County football game. Well, part of it anyway, I couldn’t bear to stay for the entire thing, two hours was more than enough. I don’t mean to offend my friends and neighbors who are fans of the very popular high school team, but for me it was shear torture. Maybe if I had a boy on the team it might interest me more. Maybe………… nope.

So what on earth, you might ask yourself, would compel one to go to something that one had no interest in? Good question, glad you asked, well, my new middle schooler -daughter #1 - is in the school choir and it was “music night” at the game. In elementary school she was not required to attend, but in middle school, showing up is a large part of her grade. And so, I bought her the requisite shirt, which due to the earthquake of last month, hadn’t arrived and so we hunted down yet another green shirt an hour before the game at the local Stuffmart. I bought football tickets for myself and daughter #2 so that we could witness said “music night” and bask in pride at the lovely melodies we were going to enjoy which daughter #1 was contributing to.

Still, I couldn’t really say that I was looking forward to spending a Friday night in this way. I had taken a fall at work – I classically slipped on a piece of banana in the foyer of the school building in which I work. My feet flew out from under me and down I went, fortunately on my sizable backside. I am dead clumsy and take tumbles somewhat regularly, usually falling forward and smashing a knee or twisting an ankle or jamming an arm, but for once I landed where I was meant to, on my bottom. And still I managed to twist my right knee somehow. I am hopeful that there exists security camera footage of the incident in order to learn just how I managed to do that, also for the amusement value at watching my slap-stick-self fall over and over. Moreover, I am hoping to spot the banana dropper. You have been warned banana dropper.

My point is, I was in no small amount of pain and walking up and down bleachers and miles in a parking lot while trailing a five year old, just didn’t sound like the way I wanted to spend my Friday evening. Still, a Mama’s duty is to this kind of undertaking, so there we were, on time with bells on, even if the bells had no clackers.

I took D#1 to the school cafeteria and then D#2  and I bought popcorn, which delighted her to no end, and went to find seats in the stadium. Immediately upon sitting down D#2 continued her usual nonstop questioning; “Where is Lily? What is this place? Why are we here? Can I go sit over there? What is that guy doing? Why is he doing it? Why is he wearing that Lion head? Is that a real lion? What is that noise? When will Lily start singing? Why does she have to sing? Can I go and sit with that lady? Why not? Is the game starting yet? Why? What kind of game is it? Is it over? Why? When will it start? What are they going to do? Why?” You get the idea.

I’d brought my camera since I consider every opportunity as one to be photographed, so in addition to keeping track of D#2 I also had two cameras and my purse hanging around my neck, and popcorn and drinks in my hands. Quite the picture of a nerdy Mama limping up the stadium steps, I’m sure.

We sat for a while waiting for the festivities to start and D#2 continued her questions, while someone with an air horn behind us practiced its use and the announcer for some reason kept coming on and shouting “Welcome to the JUNGLE!!” Jungle?! Really? Exactly where is this jungle of which he speaks? Over there in that corn field? Is he referring to our Bambi infested forests? Seriously? There is a madman referring to Louisa as a jungle? I’m sorry, but I have no patience for this kind of nonsense, it just really annoys me. Jungle. Honestly.

So finally it became time for the choirs of all four elementary schools, the middle school, the high school and all their respective bands to come on the field for Music Night! A large group of children flooded the field, clustered round and we all stood for the National Anthem. At the point in which the words “and the rocket’s red glare” were sung a canon was shot off and D#2 screamed and climbed my body like a monkey on a pole. Seriously, both arms and legs wrapped around me like a clamp. D#2 HATES loud, booming noises. Another canon fire, another scream and then some fireworks and more screaming. Lordy, this is fun.

With the anthem and canon fire and screaming over, we sat and I prepared to be delightfully entertained by my child and her musical friends, but the announcer came on to instruct all parents to leave their seats and go down on the field to retrieve their child. Huh? “That’s it?!” I ask the stranger next to me? “Really? That’s the extent of Music Night?” She looks at me with pity in her eyes, “You have a child in the chorus? Yes, that’s it.”

And so we left our seats and entered chaos. A river of parents wandering in the general direction of signs being waved to egg us on into an expedition to find our offspring. No order, no lines, no instruction, just a mass of humanity trying to make their way to the one person with the list so that we could sign and claim our kid.

But wait! “Out of the way! Everybody move quick! Here come the football players, get out of the way or get trampled!” And out came first the apposing team then the local one like two glorified armies ready to do major battle. Good lord, why one earth were there so many of them? I swear, there were at least one hundred kids in uniform and helmet on each team. We all moved aside and tried not to crush any small children and waited for the hordes to pass, then resumed the quest to retrieve the other slightly larger children.

Once this mission was accomplished I had planned to leave, but Lily had a friend and they wanted to wander around. “Please, oh please Mom?! I want to, it’s fun. Oh PLEASEEEEEE?” The other mother assured me that they were to check in every 15 minutes and so I said she could go for one tour. However this meant fighting our way BACK to the stadium and finding seats near each other so that they knew where to check back to. So another traipse through the chaos.

Dutifully, fifteen very long, tortuous minutes later, - fifteen minutes in which D#2 attempted to engage every single person within ear shot in conversation and ask her bazillion questions - D#1 returned. Halleluiah! Let’s leave! “But Mom, can’t I stay just a little while more? PLEEEEASEEE? Oh please Mom, it’s so much fun, oh please?”

“No, sorry sweetie, I know it is fun for you, but my head might just pop off if I hear that guy screaming ‘Welcome to the Jungle’ even one more time. We are going.” And we fought upstream yet again to escape the mayhem; my knee screaming, my irritation levels high, my parental duty attending Friday Night Lights over.

“We only have to do this once a year, right?” I asked in desperation. The answer was an unqualified ”I don’t know. But I hope it is every game!” Oh mercy.

©KKW 2011