Can you say masochist? That's what I thought that I was going to be when I volunteered to chaperone the 9th grade trip to Canobie Lake Amusement Park for Physics Day. Rosie, at first, didn't want me to do it (does any 15 year old want her Mom around when she's having fun?), but it really was a token comment because with our recent events, she likes knowing exactly where I am.
First stop in the morning was the gymnasium (or Field House) at her high school. Oy, I should've brought earplugs with me. 2-300 some-odd (and some were very odd) 9th graders can make a lot of noise in a room that reverberates- even if they really were well behaved. Hurry up and wait. And wait. And BTW, is there someone that I'm supposed to check in with? What bus am I going to be on? And what are my responsibilities with regard to this day? In other words, help- because I have no idea what I should be doing!
Finally, I get my bus assignment. Bus #7 (and Rosie is on #1). Fine; but then there is another mother who is going and her kid is on #7 and she wants to go with her. They switch me to Rosie's bus and she makes a token comment to stay away from her.
Wait for the buses to arrive. School buses. And BTW, they need to be back at school in the afternoon in time to do the end of the day runs- and Friday is an early day. These kids are not going to have too much time at the amusement park!
It turns out that my responsibilities begin and end with keeping them quiet on the bus- and not going around with any of them at the park! Wow, that sounds easy!
And easy it was!! 4 adults (the other 3 were male teachers) and 36 kids. Those kids were so well behaved that we only looked back in the bus to make sure that they weren't standing up. Wow. The one teacher who had them this year was highly laudatory of this year's 9th graders.
So I got a free pass to the amusement park for sitting in a school bus. All I did really was count them the number of kids getting on, count them getting off and issue dire warnings for them to be back on the bus in 2.25 hours!! And then I got to go on whatever rides that I wanted to go on and wander around myself- and it was a gorgeous, pleasant day. The temperature was hot, but there was such a nice breeze blowing off the lake that it didn't feel hot.
When Rosie hopped off the bus, she popped me a kiss and ran off. But about 3/4 of the way through our time there, we both found ourselves in line for the same ride. And from that point on, she hung around with me! Rosie's friend Adina hadn't wanted to go on any of the water rides, so I knew that Rosie really wanted to, so we tried to talk Adina into joining us as we went off to get wet (the 2nd time for me!) on one of the signature rides.
Well, Adina held our bags. And then I held their bags as they went on some sort of spinning ride. I don't do high velocity spins and I certainly don't do roller coasters anymore. Although why I still like water splash rides, I don't know.
We had enough time for an overly sweet Italian ice and then back on the bus. All of the kids came back in good time and our bus was the first one out of the parking lot (but we were the second bus back to school!)
I had a lot of fun and very little work. I would certainly do this volunteering again (although it won't be for Rosie again)- but rumor (or was it a threat) is that I'm signed up for the sophomore sleep-over. That one sounds like a LOT more work!
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I'm going to be starting up a new (and password protected closed) blog. It's going to deal with Abe and Rosie, but it's also going to be my vent when something goes wrong in life, or my place to kvell when something goes right.
So ladies, please think about some name choices and write them in the comments. Also, let me know if you'd like to be on the list for this new blog. You'll have to send your email address, real name and where you live to [email protected]
Thanks!!!
One idea is : From This Day Forward; another is Life Marches On. Already shot down is "All the days of my Life"- because I don't plan to post every single day.
"Stay away from me" seems to be a token comment, made for the audience. I'm glad to hear she went on rides with you later!
Posted by: Daisy | June 09, 2009 at 10:57 AM
They always end up liking us, especially the more we back off but stay nearby.
I only recently found your blog, but would love to see your new one.
Posted by: Maureen at IslandRoar | June 09, 2009 at 04:01 PM