I have lost my mind, clearly.

I volunteered, without being asked, to chaperone a field trip to the zoo.  With 20 4 and 5 year olds.

For some reason I had it stuck in my head that it was Braden’s last pre-school field trip and I didn’t want to miss it.  Turns out during summer camp, they go on a field trip every week.  Oops!  It worked out in the end because we had a great time.

There were several other parents along for the fun and I was amazed at how well-behaved all of the kids were.  The teachers kept them together and under control better than I can manage my own two.  I was taking notes, for sure.

I love watching Braden interact with his buddies from school, especially when he forgets that I’m there and relaxes with them.  Sometimes when I’m around, I think he feels like he needs to look out for me (such a sweet boy, huh?) and he sticks right beside me.  It’s sweet, for sure, but I really like watching him just be a little boy with his friends.  Their conversations are hilarious.  I promise I only eavesdropped a bit.

I’m so thankful that my company and my boss let me take time off to do stuff like this.  I’d really hate to miss out on it.  I’m going to be bummed if I can’t work out my schedule to tag along on all most of their weekly field trips this summer.

I’m going to miss these kids next year too.  B’s been at his school since he was 6 months old.  I’ve watched some of these kids grow up with him.  I hope that at least a few of them end up at the same elementary school that he’s going to next year.