fs2 annual sports meet

The morning of the 11th of December was spent at Caila’s school because it was their level’s Annual Sports Meet. Hubby and I hadn’t attended the previous year’s (for some reason, we didn’t know about it) and since then, she never let us forget how disappointed she was that she didn’t see her Mommy and Daddy at the event while all the rest of her classmates’ parents were there. It’s heartbreaking, I tell you. It may seem like a small thing, but not attending a school event made me feel we had somewhat failed as parents. You see, even for Orientations or Parent-Teacher meetings, Hubby and I make sure that at least one of us (usually me) leaves work early to attend them. That’s how important we want our children to feel…that even though we’re busy with work, they can always count on us to be there for significant events.

So this time, Hubby and I made sure to take the morning off from work to be at her school. We didn’t take Sophie with us though because the weather was pretty cold; we just left her with Jovy at home. Caila didn’t mind. Just seeing both of us at the front of the crowd as she and her classmates marched around the field was enough for her. She kept waving and proudly pointing us out to her classmates. And as the kids showed their moves of the dance they had been practicing, I could see she was really giving her all. Of course, I was beaming with pride as I recorded everything on video.

There were just 2 relays, but with approximately 5 sections (or was it 6?) of 25 kids each, you can bet that it took a while for all the kids to race.

After the kids’ relays, the parents were asked to participate in the races. The first one was for the daddies, and the second was, of course, for the mommies. Hubby didn’t join the Daddy race, but since I really wanted to make up for our absence last year (oo na, di talaga ako maka-get over), I joined the Mommy race. 

Surprisingly, there were a lot of mommies who joined; so instead of just 3 groups, 6 groups were competing. Each time the participants stood waiting for the races to start, the kids would chant “Go Daddy! Go Daddy!” and “Go Mommy! Go Mommy!” over and over again. Nakakatuwa!

I can’t remember what the daddies had to do…all I remember is it involved a ball for each team, doing something with it from one end to the other, and then throwing it to the next team-mate. For the mommies, we were asked to go from one end to the other and back while balancing a big papier mache egg on a piece of cardboard. I was the second to the last in my team and when it was my turn, I could hear the emcee saying “it looks like the mommy in green (which was me) is in the lead.” However, it was a very close race, and we eventually lost to another team whose last mommy was much faster. It was ok, though. The kids and parents all enjoyed themselves and that’s what’s important, anyway.

Finally the Sports Meet ended and the teachers and kids of FS2 marched around the field again and back to their classrooms where they were each given a toy and a small bag of snacks to munch on. Since it was announced that the kids could leave right away, I went to Caila’s classroom to fetch her, gathered her things, and we headed home.

She couldn’t stop talking about the day and how happy she was that we were there. Taking the morning off work was definitely worth watching our daughter actively joining the relays. The best thing however, was seeing the happiness in her face when she saw us, in front of the crowd, cheering her on and supporting her.