Day 92, June 12, 2020

Day 92, June 12, 2020

I'm a terrible school mom.  I mean, I'm a good mom.  I know this.  But I have given up on trying to keep up with all the activities that the school is trying to have me do with my kids.  Between art challenges and merry melody challenges and town-wide "art display" shows, I simply can't keep up.  I love my girls, and I  like their school.  The enthusiasm the teachers have is tremendous. But I'll be honest, I was just not feeling a home Field Day.

Field Day, when I was a kid, involved a lot of relay races and was the most fun day of the year.  I'm athletic, I thrive on competition.  It was red vs. blue, friend against friend, and I took it VERY seriously.  Points were awarded at every station- each game counted, so whether you were running while holding an egg on a spoon, or changing into dress up clothes and spinning in circles, you had to do your best.

When it came time for that tug of war, the points for red and blue were tallied, and at each grade level, you knew which team had won.  Then, the tug of war was held to award MORE points, usually enough to give either the blue or red team a school-wide victory. The highlight of elementary school was being in the 6th grade tug of war, where the blue team took on the red team while the whole school stood lining the field, and each kid was cheering for one of them (depending on the color you were assigned).  The decibel levels reached were gigantic, and I'm glad it was held outdoors.

There was only one year I didn't participate, and it was soul crushing.  I'd pulled my hamstring at a Memorial Day soccer tournament in Virginia, and was still on IR when Field Day rolled around two weeks later.  My teacher, Mrs. Lewitz, could tell how upset I was, and gave me the honor of dividing our class into the blue and red teams.  I tried to be as diplomatic and fair as possible, and I must have done something right, because it was the only time I ever saw two teams tie.

Now, Field Day is more about participation than winning, and I'll be honest, I think it loses some of its luster because of that.  The games can be entertaining- throwing at a dunk tank was a highlight last year at the girls' old school- but it's not the same as each relay counting towards the greater prestige of blue vs. red.  Now, they don't even HAVE teams of colors, just all the kids wearing school colors.

And this year, of course, Field Day wasn't to be at school because of quarantine.  And while I appreciate the phys ed teacher for trying to have the kids do something related to field day at home, I simply didn't have the energy to go seeking out all the scorecards and items to create field day games (I don't have multiple spatulas, and I certainly don't want the one I have broken while the kids try to bounce socks on it- I know, I'm a terrible person).  Instead, I took the girls outside, where they swam in the Intex pool (R.), and played soccer (E.).  It wasn't field day, but it was outside play, and I think that's the most important thing.

Speaking of outdoor play, we did have a minor meltdown today, as E. was upset that soccer isn't fun anymore.  This is a kid that, like me, thrives off competition.  Put her on the field with a bunch of other girls (or boys) and she'll be having the time of her life slide tackling, shooting, playing defense, scoring.  During her winter season (before all this lockdown stuff happened) she would lament that she only had soccer three days a week.  But she is over doing drills on her own, and through zoom.  She doesn't want to kick the ball against a wall- she wants to pass it with a teammate.  Tryouts for her club team are two weeks away, and can't get here soon enough, because she needs to feel that camaraderie and competition for this sport to be fun.  I can't blame her- while I understood that practice was necessary to get better, I was always a gamer too, and I can't imagine having four months of nothing but individual skills with zero competition. 

I told her if she doesn't want to play, it's totally her call, but that she might miss it when the games start again.  Which she responded to with "I want to play games.  I just don't want to do this boring stuff by myself".  Sigh.  The governor today mentioned summer school being able to start- in person- on July 6, so I have to imagine that in-person outdoor sports are going to be more normal soon (socially-distranced training is starting on June 22nd).  Tryouts for E.'s soccer team are the 28th, so I'm hopeful that she returns to her soccer-loving form soon.

In other news, we took the 360 degree photos of my mom's house through Real Tech today.  They came in with their special equipment, and even did a flyover video, which should be an awesome way to showcase the two acres of property I called home for much of my life.  It's interesting to look at your childhood home through the lens of a buyer- my mom has been going over it with a fine-tooth comb, and notices every imperfection.  I'm aware of some of the shortcomings, but overall, I feel like the warmth and history of the house more than outweigh them.  The goal is to get it on the market next Wednesday, so we'll see how buyers react.