Carnival time!!

At Luke and Kate's school, every year they have a Fall Carnival.  Last year was great.  They have blow up inflatables, ring toss, cake walks, petting zoo, arts, crafts, basketball games, and of course, food.

Jim Adams asked me to help him out last year with the concessions.  He had put together a team of people on the island that I know and drink with.  I thought it sounded like fun.  I get to see the inside of the school cafeteria, and I didn't have to volunteer to work the ring toss or something like that.  Little did I know what I was getting into.  Jim's youngest son was in the 5th grade.  What that means is that this was the last year that he would be running the concessions stand at the carnival and he was needing to pass the torch onto someone.  Sure, I said.  It will be fun, I said. 

So, fast forward to this year.  I get reminded that I had agreed to do this.  I have to go to PTA meetings and listen to critiques of last year and suggestions for this year.  Oh, and BTW, I have to create a menu, purchase all the supplies, including cutlery, and cook, and serve.  I tapped on Jim for advice and his files from last year.  He will get me a copy of the receipt he has from Sams Club, he says.  That will make it easier.  So, he and I discuss the menu over emails, and he has some suggestions for me.  How many people do I need to cook and buy for, I ask?  Ask Trish, ask the PTA leader Angie, they all say.  And don't forget to recruit volunteers, they all say.

I develop my team, thanks to all the ladies help.  Trish volunteered her husband Trent, and their friend William.  And Amy volunteered her husband Patrick.  Sweet, I now have a team of 4.  That should be enough, I think.  And Patrick has a mobile grill.  And William is an expert at grilling.  This thing is working out great, only I still don't know how many people to buy or cook for.

As the day grows closer, I decide to throw out a number to Trish. How about 250 people?  Do you think I should plan on cooking for 250?  Yes, she says.  That should be about great.

Ok, Jim and I go over the list one more time before I head to Sams Club.  Don't forget this.  Don't forget that.  And BTW, plan on about 500 people.  WTF, now I need to double my stuff.

I spend Thursday night doing a Sams Club recon mission.  I write prices of everything down.  Then come home to finalize the menu.  The final verdict:  Frito Pie, Cheeseburgers, Meatballs, Chicken Skewers, Corn Dogs, Hot Dogs, Sausage on a Stick.  Also thrown in, pizza delivered from Pizza King.

On Friday, I hit Sams Club twice, and WalMart once. On Saturday, I hit WalMart again and we finally have enough of everything.  It is time to cook.

I slipped on my chef jacket and really enjoyed myself.  I got to know some of the kids teachers and heard nothing but good things about the food, even though I know it was all up to snuff.  William helped out tremendously and I enjoyed working with him so much, I volunteered to be on his cooking team at next month's BBQ cookoff in CLS.  Patrick's help was also greatly appreciated as he was the runner for WalMart twice more during the event as well as the main food runner and head dish washer.  And Trent was awesome as well.  He came right from his main job and

I have ideas for next year, and will have at least some sort of idea of how many people to cook for.  I intend on keeping my records.

To concuss, or not to concuss, that is the question....

Well, it finally happened.  Luke got knocked on his butt in practice and fell backwards and hit his head on the ground.  It shook him up pretty bad and he was seeing stars for a bit.  But let me back up just a bit.

The previous weekend, during Luke's game, the other team took some very cheap shots including several late hits.  After one particularly troublesome one, one of the parents on our team ran onto the field.  Marlina saw a concerned dad running to check on his injured son.  I saw an angry dad running onto the field to confront the opposing coach about the late hits.  Either which way, the game was called and we took Luke home.  Later that evening, Marlina and I of course discussed the days events where she gave me her version of what happened.  She said she would have done the same thing and running out there to protect her boy would be what any normal rational person would've done.  I decided to let it go by saying "At least where Luke plays on the offensive line, the collisions are violent enough for him to get hurt like that."

Fast forward to the very next week in practice where Luke gets his bell rung.  The very next week.  Anyways, I got a good ration of "I told you so" when they got home.  I asked Luke what happened, and you could tell he had been bumped pretty good.  He took some Advil and relaxed on the couch for the night, with his mom right by his side all night.

The next day, he went to school and complained of a headache. When he saw his mom in the hallway, he told her he was having trouble concentrating.  This set off a tidal wave of fear into Marlina and she immediately wanted to contact the doctor.  The next appt. wasn't until the next day, so Luke went to practice (not participating of course), and then came home.  The next morning, I asked him how he was feeling, if he felt any pain, if he had a headache, if he was dizzy or nauseous, if he saw stars, if he was having trouble concentrating.  All of which came back a resounding NO.  I made the casual suggestion to my wife that he is fine and I didn't think he needed to go see the doctor.  How do you think that went over?

Anyways, she took him to the doc.  The verdict:  mild concussion.  Maintain rest and no contact sports for a week. 

I bring all of this up not to illustrate a difference of opinion between me and my wife.  Not even to illustrate the differences between moms and dads.  I bring all of this up to ask the question, is my son trying to act tough for his dad, and is he being totally honest with his mom?  In other words, it is really tough being a parent.  The tugs at the heart are strong and evenly matched with the knowledge of the brain that every kid must grow up.  No parent wants his kid to get hurt and it is very painful watching him when he is not at his peak.  Does it make me a bad dad because I said that a bump on the head might be good for him in the long run?  That challenges, including physical ones, will help him grow up?  That the best stories in life are ones of overcoming adversity?  I don't think so.  Especially when I have the ying to my yang, perfectly contrasting my every move, right by my side, to make sure I don't go off the deep end, as is my job with her.