I don't know about you, but when I was younger, one of my favorite days in school were the ones where you got to go on a field trip. I remember going to the zoo, going to the science museum, local farms. It was a welcome break from the routine, usually included lots of fun (learning in disguise) and my mom would often volunteer to chaperon.
So, of course, when the opportunity to volunteer for one of K's field trips was presented, I gladly signed up to help out. Of course, things are different today than back then. For example, I remember the parents riding the bus with us to the destination of the field trip. Not so with this experience. We had to drive separately ... and meet the class there. (Normally, this wouldn't be a huge inconvenience, but the field trip was at the museum on the U campus ... land of construction and crowds ... parking was a b$#&Q.)
I beat the bus, and had to spend about 30 minutes just acquainting myself with the museum, checking email, Facebook, etc. When the class arrived, I was thrilled to see K's face light up when he saw me, and the few kids who recognized me all chimed in "K's mom!" There were lots of activities to keep the kids interested, and they learned about many animals, including bears, timber wolves, beavers and snakes. (K actually pet the snake, which is monumental since the kid usually runs away screaming from bugs.) I had a responsibility to help keep kids in line (and also literally in line) and found my self saying the same kids' names over and over again. Overall, the kids were really well-behaved and made it an enjoyable experience.
Then, lunch arrived ... and the sad state of the future of our health and well-being was quickly presented to me. K's lunch was moderate. He ate his applesauce first, then his sandwich and then just a handful of his baked Cheetos (not my choice) with a small bottle of water. Not a prize-winning lunch, but not a horrible lunch. However, the stuff I saw in other kids bags broke my heart. One girl had a large bag of Funyons, two Swiss cake rolls, a bagel sandwich and kool-aid to drink. She ate the whole bag of Funyons first, and then when the teacher said there were only five minutes left ... the girl wolfed down the two cake rolls. I wanted to inject a fruit or vegetable so badly.
What the experience did is solidify my passion around health and nutrition. It's really important for me to instill in my children healthy living ... and now I have a greater picture of what I am up against. Yikes! After lunch, (which was a good two hours later than the kids are used to) I saw my son board the bus, and I was off to go back home and greet my sick toddler and husband. It was such a memorable experience to spend the day with K, and I hope D decided to volunteer in the future. (As an aside, I was surprised out of all the parents that were there to volunteer, the dads outnumbered the moms ... that was never the case when I was a kid, and it emphasizes how the roles of dads and moms are definitely evolving.)
The day also reminded me that maybe I should take my own team out on field trips every once and a while ... we all can use a break in the routine.
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