Dad On Duty #47

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On Fridays, I take a total of three kids to school; mine, our neighbor across the street (another second grade girl), and a first grade boy that lives a few blocks away. I also normally do the Bobby the Bobcat thing on Friday mornings.

In order to “get fuzzy” (as I call the dress out for Bobby), we need to get to school a little early. That requires a certain level of precision, that is challenging on a normal morning when you’re dealing with three kids between 6 and 8 years old.

Imagine it on Halloween when they’re all wearing costumes.

It was a real live clown car. <insert clown music here>.

We were late. (Surprise face). No fuzziness today.

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Today was the Halloween parade. I made a call for some Dad help, and got a tremendous turnout. A total of six Dads were on duty for the parade.

From my viewpoint, this was a very high risk event. The parade would go through all the hallways of the school, and then outside. Hundreds of parents were coming. The kids would be wearing costumes that made it hard for them to see and walk. At one point, we’d have every kid…600 of them….outside. I was pretty nervous.

The Boss gave us an overview of the route and the plan. We identified the failure points (stairs, exiting building, leakage and encroachment at the bus circle), and formulated our strategy.

Marc Kruse took point on the bus circle. He stood at the high end to make sure no one came in or out. From there he could see the entire outdoor parade route. Andy Boerkel, Marl Sprowl, myself and a couple of the other Dads basically followed the parade through the building and out, and then back in.

We were staged every few yards so that at any given moment, between us, we could see every single kid.

On their own, the other Dads started calling accountability on the radio. “Kindergarten is starting out the door”. “Ok, I’ve got them”. “Last Kinder is out”. “Got him”.

For a guy trained and experienced in operations, it was a beauty to behold.

I barely said anything. The other guys communicated, adjusted and naturally knew what to do next.

“Last kid in”. “Stairs clear”. “I’m sweeping 1st grade hall for parents and accountability”. “All kindergarten accounted for”.

Darn near made me choke up. Like watching a great ballet, only this was a dance of Dads watching over kids….

……..your kids

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That night, for Trick or Treating, I carted four girls through the neighborhood. They, of course, had a blast. And we saw dozens of other kids we knew. We chatted and visited with our friends and neighbors.

And I had a real feeling that I had my arms wrapped around the whole community of kids and friends, and that they were all mine.

I think I’ll keep them.