Beneath a blanket of gray skies and rain drops dotting my glasses I helped turn a field of grass into a field of fun. Moms, Dads, and one Grandpa looked as one when someone said, "Here they come." I don't know if it was meant as announcement or warning! Single file like an army of ants on the move the Kindergartners walked toward us. Organizer and holder of the bullhorn Cindy was doing her best to turn a single file into a circle for "Ring Around the Rosie." The circle kept disintegrating into spontaneous pools of children moving in a thousand different directions. There was finally a moment of calm as the game began only to be replaced by chaos as some children went left and others went right.
Colored circles on their hands were intended to divide them into what I hoped would be more manageable groups of 10 or less. Of course this was built on the assumption they paid attention to their color. I was in charge of the sack race. Fitting young bodies into bags is like stuffing pasta-it tends to go everywhere. And what child cannot not understand the directions of dividing a group of 10 by 2 for two separate races! They hopped, walked, crawled like centipedes, and often fell out of the bags-most not caring who won, just focused on the fun.
In the midst of the chaos and near lack of any control I talked and teased with the children. AND then it happened. They always find you. The ones who move like a moth to a flame, drawn towards the smile on your face, the gentle touch of your hand on their shoulder, and the recognition that you see them as somebody. I found myself with a shadow, not worried about what color was on his hand, who seemed to be one step behind me at all times. I nearly stepped on him twice. A young girl giggled and bounced off of me with a smile that brought sunshine to a cloudy day.
They always find you-people of all ages that could use some affirmation, some recognition that they are somebody, or who simply need some more human caring contact. I had a great time but I am getting too old for this! Sitting on my patio as the sunlight slipped behind my roof and the moon grew more visible in the fading light Field Day came back to me. It came with a smile for my face and a question for my heart: Am I always ready to be found?
