Black Magpie Theory: Better

Do you know what a drum line sounds like at 5:30 a.m.?

I do.

So I survived the Friday night Lock-In at Sophie's middle school.  To be  honest with you, except for the mind-numbing effects of being awake for more than 24 hours straight, it wasn't bad.  I spent a lot of time just standing around making sure that the kids didn't get hurt.  I must hand it to the organizers of the event.  They did a great job and made the volunteer role pretty dang easy.  The event had a schedule including free play time, contests, games, lots of food and a talent show.  The thing flowed.

Sophie had a blast.  I kept my distance, letting her come to me if she needed something. It was kind of nice to see her in that new setting, running coltishly with her friends from one thing to the next.  They're all limbs at this  stage, aren't they?

During the evening, I did have the opportunity to do something specific.  You can read more about it here.

So I guess I take it back, Middle Schoolers.  You weren't so bad.  You weren't bad at all.  I witnessed genuine kindness passing between them.  Taking turns, helping each other out, not Eddie Haskell polite, but polite enough.  I held plenty of eyeglasses for kids who were doing something physical and every single one of them thanked me.

The downside is that my tail is still dragging a bit.  Instead of sleeping all day Saturday, I tried to stay on a more normal schedule.  I slept some, but my sleep deficit remains significant.  I had to drive to town to run some errands and had one of the moments where you think "Man, I don't remember driving that last stretch of road...."

Lack of sleep turned out to be a small price to pay to get back some of my hope for the future, though. I'm glad I volunteered.

How was your weekend?