Field Day 2016 - First Grade

Field Day.... 

Field Day, Field Day, Field Day, with your potato-sack races and your tug-of-war.  Such a happy day you are for so many little people - as you should be - and yet for others of us, well, it was just never meant to be.

Yep, it appears as if MY childhood feelings of Field Day dread, anxiety, and humiliation have been passed down to our firstborn.  Sorry, Sam.

This was Sam's first Field Day ever (his Kindergarten Field Day was cancelled last year because of rain) and he was so very excited.  We talked about it each day after school the week prior; he explained the games to me, where they would be played, and how they practiced every time they had P.E.

He was giddy when I dropped him off at school that morning.  But when Evie and I returned to watch the games later that morning, he ran to me crying.  It wasn't going well.  It wasn't quite what he thought it would be.  

Ms. Torres was dressed so cute in her silly workout clothes and all the teachers tried to make it fun for the kids.  But for the most part, it just wasn't happening for our Sam.  

He's an athletic kid, for sure.  Baseball, golf, and bike riding have all come easy for him.  But it wasn't about the physical challenges for Sam (as it was for me).  It was the pressure, I suspect. And too much going on. Too many kids yelling at each other (and him) to Run!  Catch!  Pull!

Plain old sensory overload for someone as sensitive and in-tune as Sam.  And a lot of pressure for one who expects such perfection from himself and others.  Lots of eye-rolling and throwing up of hands in exasperation that day.  I caught a smile when he did the bouncy-ball race, and a little smirk as he was about to fall out of his tater-sack, but that was about it. 

He told me later they did get a long turn in the bounce house at the end of the day.  That definitely helped make up for an otherwise stressful day. 

Here's hoping Field Day 2017 is a whole different experience - for everyone!