Cherry Chase Walkathon

Last Friday afternoon, Nimue's school held their big fundraiser for the year -- a walkathon and silent auction. One could immediately tell that there was a lot more money and donations involved here than at her previous school, just from the sheer level of organization, scale of the silent auction, and volunteer effort. It turned out to be a rather entertaining afternoon (and it was so warm and pleasant out that it was automatically enjoyable to be outside!)

All the kids were wearing their matching green walkathon shirts (donated!), and began marching around the quarter-mile lap at 1:00 sharp. The older kids began to run as soon as they were allowed (after the first lap, so no one would get mowed right at the outset...), and I was impressed at how many of them went pretty much straight through until the course closed at 5:00. Nimue walked the first few laps with a group of girls from her class, but by about lap 4 had shifted to walking with her friend Jeffrey. They spent the entire rest of the afternoon together -- each taking breaks when the other needed water, bathroom, food, etc. Very sweet. When I asked Nimue what they talked about, she said "Stuff. And we were counting butterflies. There were 147!"

I heard from a couple of other people in the area that they too had seen a lot of painted lady butterflies pass through on Friday afternoon, so it must be migration time. Interesting. At any rate, it kept Nimue and Jeffrey interested enough that they completed 23 laps -- almost 6 miles! Without an adult pushing them along. Good kids, all.

I had volunteered to punch lap cards for the kids as they finished each lap for the first shift. This turned out to be a busy, but fun job, as the kids seemed so very gratified by the small words of encouragment, teasing (for the kids I knew), jokes, and the like that they got if they came through my lane. By the end of it, my lap was covered with hundreds and hundreds of little multi-colored hearts that had been punched out.

Chad was one of the "Cool Dads" that manned the VIP tent (a resting zone with snacks and drinks served to the kids by said Cool Dads that was a reward for completing 15 laps). This was also apparently fun, though he did mention that next year he would prefer a volunteer spot that did not involve vasty quantities of popcorn smothered in a scary-smelling artificial butter substance.

By the end of it, sunshine and exercise had been enjoyed by all, I scored a silent auction basket with a nice baking dish, two generous chunks of imported raw-milk parmesan (smelling the cheese was what led me to bid on that particular item), a chunk of good dark chocolate (ok, that was part of it too), and a nice bottle of wine. The last was convenient, as we had need of something to make the leftover dinner more appetizing!