My son's class went snowshoeing today, and I volunteered to chaperone. My son even asked if I was going to go, and got excited when I told him yes! I figure I have to enjoy that aspect of parenting while I still can.
It's always interesting to go to my son's school and see him interact with his friends. He is sometimes a very different kid around his friends than when he's at home, which is completely expected and understood. He ran off to sit with his class for the morning routine of hearing what's offered for lunch, what the weather is suppose to be for the day and saying the Pledge of Allegiance. I chatted with a few other people I knew, and talked with the teacher about the field trip. He mentioned that there was another mom from the class going and as it turned out, I knew her, so we agreed to carpool together.
Saying that I know someone and that I am friends with someone is two completely different things. I have known this other mom for a number of years, but not really well enough to say that I have been friends with her. Which makes a 45 or so minute car ride a bit intimidating. However, determined not to let the uncomfortable silence win, I think we both managed to keep the conversations going well enough without feeling like we were "forcing" ourselves on the other. It was a very nice ride.
It was a beautiful day, warm (in the context of being February in Upstate NY) and sunny. As it turned out, my ex was also able to go on the field trip. When I first learned about this, I wasn't mad, but I was a little less than thrilled. I had been looking forward to this day out with my son and I was slightly worried that my ex being there would spark some argument or something would go awry to take away from an otherwise wonderful day out with my boy. But I was, thankfully, wrong.
When we arrived at the nature center, the kids all filed out of the bus and everyone went inside to get our briefing of what we would be doing during the day. The presenter, Mrs. C., was very knowledgeable, friendly and had obviously spoken to this age group many times before. After a short talk inside, we all headed out to strap on snowshoes. The other parents and I helped the kids get their shoes on and tightened, and the teacher had to gather up a small group of kids who had started to wander before the parents were even ready to go. We all finally marched off in a straight line, following Mrs. C, and trying not to step on one another. As I watched the kids interact with each other, I couldn't help but wonder, if I was nearly as dramatic and annoying as some of these 9- and 10-year-olds were, when I was that age. A few of the boys spent just as much time on the ground as on their feet and the girls screeched loudly every time they tripped (which was quite often). My son ended up toward the front of the line, and my ex and I ended up toward the back. We didn't see much of our boy, but we spent a good part of the trip chatting with each other about lots of different things. At one point, he looked at me and said, "Well, I sure am glad our kid asked us to go on this field trip with him!" I was thrilled to be there, kid or no kid, ex or no ex. I had never been snowshoeing before, so this was a very new experience for me, and one I really loved doing. The weather was perfect, it was bright but not too sunny and I was having a blast being outside doing something I had never done before.
I don't even know how long we were out there... I think I heard that we did about a third of a mile, and we were probably walking for an hour and a half or so. I was getting tired out, but sad that we had to go in. I probably could have and would have walked outside all day. We had lunch inside, and my ex had to leave to get the other kids. It really was nice to talk with him and feel like friends again after all the stupidity that we've put each other through. It may not be a permanently sealed friendship- I know there will still be rough patches to work through and decisions on both sides that meet disagreement- but at the moment is was nice to have him as a friend again. I sat with my son and ate lunch, quietly watching the dynamics of the kids play out. Some had great manners, others not so much. Some were loud while others sat and ate kind of quietly. The girls mostly sat at one table, the boys mostly at another. It was interesting to watch, and made me smile some more. After an hour or so for lunch, we had an indoor presentation in which Mrs. C and her son talked about some of the different programs offered at the nature center, some of the history behind snowshoeing, and some of the clues one would find out in the snow to tell us what animals had been there. She passed around a couple different animals' feet and small jars containing dried feces, which the boys seemed to love and most of the girls were grossed out by. Finally, we all had to say goodbye and head back to the school.
The car ride home was just as enjoyable as the car ride out, and seemed a little shorter. I think I had a big, goofy smile plastered on my face from the whole experience. Back at school, there was only an hour left until the end of the day and the teacher had no hope at all of doing anything productive, so I gathered up my son and took him home. The day couldn't have been scripted better. I am basking in AHA and have been all day.
:) Cheers!
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