WEDNESDAY, MARCH 19, 2008
So, about a month ago, I had this brilliant idea. (Please roll your eyes here) Since we had Spring Break coming up, I dragged (kicking and screaming) an old event from my past into the light. Did any of you ever have a Kidnap Breakfast when you were younger? If so, you’ll have fond memories of being dragged out of bed at an ungodly hour of the morning by your girl scout troop/high school band/sorority/or members of your local terrorist sleeper cell (and if that was the case – you experienced something slightly different) and were frog-marched out to a public breakfast in your jammies.
So, this morning at 5a.m. (sadly, a mere four hours after going to sleep) I forced my eyes open and sat slumped in the kitchen waiting for someone to cheer me on for being such a great Scout Leader or to bitch-slap me for being a total git. The night before, one of my co-leaders called to ask if it was daylight at 6a.m. I assured her that it must be.
It wasn’t.
By 6 a.m. I was quietly slipping into my co-leader’s house (and feeling a little creepy about the whole thing) to surprise our sleeping daughters into waking up and running off into the darkness with us in their pajamas. Let’s just say they weren’t very interested. I lifted Margaret to her feet and she stood there, vertical, wondering how in the hell she’d just gotten that way. After much good-natured cajoling (that eventually turned into threats) we wrestled them into coats and shoes and made it to the car.
We had barely explained what we were about to do (and convince ourselves that we were, in fact, planning to wake up and kidnap 14 fourth grade girls from their beds. Hannah and Margaret got into it by the time we reached the first house.
It was actually pretty hilarious. The parents knew in advance and were waiting for us. The girls’ faces as they awoke in the dark to find their entire troop at the foot of their bed was priceless. And I took pictures of every single one.
At 7:30 we invaded the local donut shop – delighting the women behind the counter who thought the girls with their bedhead and pajamas were adorable – and scaring the hell out of the old men who thought they finally had a chance to discuss their chronic diarhea with their pals. I was the last one out to the car (duh, because I was paying) and as the other leaders drove off I realized I was four girls shy of a load.
Emily sat by herself in the car, claiming she had no idea where the other girls were. I handled it well. I panicked. For four minutes. Then I heard the giggling. It’s always giggling. The four girls had crammed themselves into my trunk. And after I stopped hyperventilating, I agreed that they really had me.
The rest of the morning was a little spa day of sorts. We did each other’s hair, nails, had a group compliment session and played games. By the time the parents came it was noon and the three of us leaders were still in their jammies. We ordered pizza. We thought about drinking, but our daughters were still present and decided that might not be a good thing. But boy did we think about it.
So, that’s my Wednesday. What did you do?