Be A Sport

The nip in the air has just about set in. And along with that comes Sports Day… yippee yaayyyy…

Our little girl’s first Sports Day...

It’s been years since daddy-mommy participated in a Sports Day. So when we got the school note, (although I did feel a little antiquated) the excitement started building up.

So how exactly does this Sports Day unfold… Read on...


Child in Me

The school notice reads “send a pair of colourful pom poms” & helps us with the nearby store name too.

Naaah… the excited me thinks, “Let’s make them at home.”

Advantages:

• The craftswoman in me awakens.
• I get to reminisce about school days.
• Semi-spring cleaning done - Cardboard, wrapping papers etc. lying around the house get utilised.
• The little girl participates in the “creative” process (daddy is required to participate).
• She shrieks in excitement as her precious pom poms take shape.

Challenges:

• Daddy has to hold tight to stop her from pouncing on the unfinished “works of art”.
• Through our sleepy eyes, we have to (note: HAVE TO) watch pom pom dance on repeat mode.
• Daddy dons this incredulous look as mommy gradually shows equal enthusiasm (time for the devilish laugh here.. hee haw haw).
• Kiddo refuses to leave pom poms behind in school & tears stream down her cheeks (Much like the streamers flowing from her pom poms.. me dreamily ponders. Oh stop it.. go soothe the bawling child)

Bleed RED
Cricket fanatics in the country sport & support Blue, so why not we team up with the little girl in Red?

This feels like a mini team alright, out to enjoy a day in the sun, in the quaint school garden, under the shade of the lovely trees.

The entire Olympiad atmosphere is infectious.


The Grand Opening

Pom pom dance

• Lost look on the faces of most kids (including ours).
• Holding tightly on to their pom pom pairs & shaking them here & there (it rhymes !!).
• Looking around at their friends and looking out for their parents.
• Teachers gently guiding them as the music rolls.
• Each kid dancing in own unique style - the presentation becomes all the more endearing.

Inauguration

• Balloons – red & white – fly into the crisp morning air amid much cheer.
• Inaugural speech given by older kids - phenomenal command over the language!!
• An inspiration for our younger brigade.

And then starts the Saturday carnival
Not only the many parents, but enthusiastic Grandparents are also participating – much to the delight of the little ones.

We three participate in some exciting events – A Snapshot.

Event 1.0 :: Hoop hoop hooray

-          Daddy encourages his little girl to crawl through a Hoop towards the finishing line.

-          She doesn’t want to crawl – instead chooses to run through it each time daddy places the hoop in front of her.

-          And my, is she enjoying or what!!

Event 1.1 :: “I am hungy”

-          Umm... You took part in just one activity, I remind her.

-          “I AM HUNGY” - is definitively declared.

-          Okk… healthy fruits break then.

Event 2 :: Get Set … Wet

-          A complex game here involving 2 buckets, 1 sponge & 2 thrilled participants ;)

-          Mommy dunks a sponge in water in Bucket 1.

-          Little girl runs with it to Bucket 2 & squeezes out the water.

-          Runs back to mommy.

-          Repeat… till water exists in Bucket 1.

-          Cheering Daddy + Encouraging Mommy + Persevering Kiddo = Change of her drenched outfit.

Event 3:: Ouch Potato

-          The trio have to showcase their hopping talent & collect potatoes laid out on the track.

-          Crack.. Ouch.. Are the bones creaking already?? (Antiquated feeling makes a comeback)

-          Event over – little one believes in enjoying fruits .. rather the “vegetables” of labour.

-          Firmly plonks herself next to the bucket where we have gathered the potatoes.

-          Wants to take them home to have mashed potatoes.

-          Lot of coaxing required for guard duty to be relinquished.

And there are many many many more - Cricket in golf mode with daddy as wicket keeper & mommy-daughter duo scoring pretty well, a delighted daughter sifting through the sand to find marbles and… let’s just stop here.

Steeplechase + Treasure Hunt !!
It's Sports Day after all. So let's make mommy participate in steeplechase.
So here I am, sprinting behind her, avoiding the many big and tiny feet, jumping over bench hurdles, nearly colliding with a closing gate – as she keeps escaping from the garden to her class environment.

For she wants to do all her regular school activities too!!

And suddenly she is nowhere to be found. We look here, there, everywhere.

Daddy is on search duty inside the building and finally with help from the ladies at school, finds our little treasure sitting in a shelf – her treasure chest of activities.

Our hearts did skip a few beats when she could not be located; but what is heart-warming is how she has taken to the school & started relishing the activities.

Winner Takes it All
And we reach the home stretch with a thank you note.. yet again, from the older kids.

Each child is a winner today, each parent is a winner today.

Each child has received a cup. But more importantly they got their parents’ time, they got a lot of fun, they got a lot of sun.

And the parents got to relive their childhood – and to gently initiate their little wards into the fun of Sports.

Cheers !!
We, the happy parents, were grinning away when she received her first ever “cup”.

She was tad unimpressed - “There are no chocolates inside the cup !!”.

Hmmm, respected school authorities, please do take note, for next year.

And then she just raises the cup & pretends to sip from it…

CHEERS indeed – to a day well spent, to some awesome memories, and to more such events in the future.