Field Day

Waiting for the cross-age relay...in order of age and size. I knew the senior captain (green shirt) when she was in our half-day program.

Watching from the sidelines...

Hands out, ready for the tag...I remember the week when the girl in the gray t-shirt suddenly became a reader.

(Thanks to Jennifer Hill, our communications director, for the photos.)

Well, it's not exactly library related but... We had our annual field day last Thursday. One thing I always notice are the skills that children have outdoors, special abilities the librarian never sees. Who knew we had a hula hoop champion? Who would have thought that the shy kindergartener would have the guts to sign up for the relay? Or that the risk-averse 8 year-old boy would try jump rope for the first time and laugh about it? The joie de vivre, the gusto and the tender moments ("Oh, you cut your knee. I'll take you to the nurse") are everywhere.

The highlight is the cross-age relay. Everybody who wants to can sign up. The teams are composed of children from age 5 and up (with a few stalwart teachers for good measure). We gather to watch them run to the other end of the field, slap a hand and send the next biggest runner off. Suddenly it's as though you are watching these children grow up in fast motion, as though the years at Paideia are racing right before your eyes. I remember almost every one of these runners. A seven-year old whizzes by and I remember when she was too scared to sign up for the relay. An enormous high school boy gallops down the field and I remember the skinny, squirrelly first grader checking out his very first library book--Dr. Seuss. I am stunned to see the seniors, who are team captains, as I wonder where the years went. On at least three teams this year, I watched these seniors bend down, hug, hold a hand and otherwise reassure the smallest members of their team, some of whom had misgivings once they saw the hundreds of people cheering on the field: more tender moments. What little kid wouldn't love having a big high school person squatting at her level, telling her personally how important she is to the team? And the big kids are the most sentimental of all, remembering all their years of running in this special event.

The cross-age relay. May it live forever.