I’m sore

And I think it had something to do with the kicking and screaming I was doing while being carried to the pool by two very large males. Ironically, they got me to the edge and then put me down; I was actually thrown in by the tiny, 85-pound Tinkerbell. But we got her, too.
I didn’t anticipate having fun at field day; racing about in the hot sun, eating gross foods, and slithering down a slip-and-slide have never really appealed to me. See, I have bad memories of all those.
On field day: the only time I was ever involved was the year I went to public school in the second grade. Somehow I got signed up for the crab walk (I think because no one else was volunteering) and I cannot crab walk. At all. I get in that position and my limbs stop functioning. So on the big day, every other participant was finished, off the field, and back in their seats, and I was still only half-way down the course, inching along.In front of the whole entire elementary school.
On eating gross foods: The only time I entered an eating contest of any kind, it was watermelon. And rather than swallowing, I packed my mouth, activated my gag reflex, and crawled under the table to throw up. My mom won.
On slip and slide: I cannot slide straight, so I always go off the side into the grass and scrape myself thoroughly.
So for some reason, I wasn’t eagerly anticipating field day. But I promised another girl I would go and help cheer. And you know what? I ended up having a blast. I never actually entered any events, but I did cheer, and Henry James had it right when he said, “He too serves a certain purpose who only stands and cheers.”
But that’s not why I had fun; I had fun because I met C, and she’s a new girl in the gang, so I was trying to ensure that she and E felt plugged in, included. And that’s when we have the most fun–when we are investing ourselves for the sake of others.

~ by wildeyedwonder on July 18, 2005.