Having a Field Day

So here's the thing: I love volunteering at Clear Sky Elementary. This time around: Field Day, which was its own brand of hilarity and incredulity. My disclosure: good action shots are hard to come by, so, trust me, Eve was a vision in a tie-dye swim team t-shirt and a hula hoop.
Here's the other thing: Field Day ain't what it used to be. The vast numbers of kids who didn't even know what a 3-legged race was, how to play tug-of-war or jump rope was staggering, but even more baffling were the parents: either the kids weren't competitive enough and the staff weren't taking the event seriously, or the kids were unfairly disadvantaged by their lack of experience. The teachers were so petrified that the kids would actually touch the turf with anything other than the soles of their shoes, my Shaney, irrepressible Shaney, walked the race. Walked it. My wild child walked it. Unbelievable.

After about 5 sessions of hearing parents provide little Johnny and Janey with pointers on how to "win" and/or avoid actual physical activity that may nor may not result in injury, my opening spiel evolved into: "It's a race, but there's no one to beat. If you haven't tripped, fallen down, come out of your tether or giggled, you haven't done it right." Ty's definitely my kid: if you can't be a goofball, what's the point?

I'm just saying: it's a crazed world out there. Protect your kids all you can. But maybe drawing the line at indulging their obsession with 6+ hours of DS would be good. Take 'em outside and let 'em touch the grass.