"Why are we here?" wondered the children, once again. The answer is always the same, "Because your parents are fun and random and you'll look back and be amazed at how unique your childhood truly was." Ha! The kids are good sports.
One unexpected treat was the presence of the Amish community. There is quite a lot of Amish in that corner of the state; I was somewhat surprised. Along the roads, there were extra wide paths for buggies, carts, and horses. We saw one fellow heading into town, following the faint track of wagon wheels gone before him. But the best part was when we were driving along the country roads . . . and dropped right into the past!
Out of my van window I saw a patch of children in simple, brightly colored dresses and dress shirts--playing baseball on a green swath of grass. It was recess time at the Amish school, and they were darling! I wanted to go back and take pictures, but Buck said that was weird (I didn't really want to . . . well, okay, a little ;) I said, "Well, what if our kids played ball with them? Then it wouldn't be nearly as weird to take pictures!" He seemed to think that our kids joining them would be weird enough. But I'm thinking, a lot of people think homeschooling is like being Amish, we'll just make it work in our favor today. Same thing! Nope, he wouldn't turn back, so I'll just have to remember my glimpse into the past in my mind's eye, forever . . . :)
And then we went to Subway! Ha :) Well, trying to find cell service to find a Subway was like the biggest challenge ever on this trip. You'd think, there's a Subway everywhere! And there is . . . but I'm kind of picky about my Subway restaurants. I don't care to eat at one that is half gas station and the same guy taking change for cigarettes and lotto tickets is slapping cheese on my *freshly baked* bread. So, around lunchtime we were happy to find a newish looking Love's truck stop . . . this is a step above gas station, because the restaurant is separate from, but still inside, the (generally, pretty clean) establishment. The kids were super excited to use their Grandma J gift cards, and even shared the wealth with mom and dad. We ended up with like $3 leftovers, so whoohoo--another Subway run (just a little one) in the future ;)
When the sun dropped behind the horizon, we headed to (one of) my high school's homecoming game! My nephew--14-years-old---started Varsity. What?! It was fun to see the new stadium, a gift from a member of the community. The school has grown, and grown, and GROWN since I graduated a century or so ago :) It was fun to shiver on the sidelines and cheer for our own family star. I have to admit, with my vision being what it is, I often could not see the tiny numbers on the jerseys far up field, so I had to ask, "Is he playing now?" several times. If only he had a big yellow feather in his helmet, it sure would have been easier for me to keep track of him ;)
I also had other ideas for family interaction during the game--for instance, selfies with auntie at half time! But that didn't work out. I also considered running onto the field to give him a hug and take pictures after each tackle, but my husband said those types of things are frowned upon in football. Then I wondered if I sent one of the kids in my stead if it would be more acceptable, but Brennen thought they'd kick us out of the game! As if. I'm alumni (alumna?) Hee hee :) I did sneak over and give my friend Melissa a big hug. She was heading home after her band boy finished his half time performance. She was my wedding hair designer, too. (That's your random fact for this blog post ;)
The game ended up being very exciting, the score pushed back and forth until the very end. Final was 30-33. Our team lost, but we still walked to the van under an array of fireworks in celebration of the team's efforts. The sky glitters put on quite a nice show for a fall football game!
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