Two Lost Kids

My husband was a school teacher and coach until we could no longer make enough money to feed our eight kids.  He was good at it and loved it.  

Would you want to take this many kids
to a 3 hour football game?  Me either.

He taught PE and health and coached high school football and basketball.  Every time he had a game I would load up the eight kids and haul them to his games to be supportive.  I must say that I didn't see much of the games but the kids loved going.

When our two oldest boys and oldest daughter turned the ripe old age of about 8 they became water boys/girl for the football team and got to stand on the sidelines.  They would run out onto the field during timeouts and pass around the water.  This, they considered, was a very big and important job.  To me it meant 3 less kids bugging me during the game

                                                         

One Friday night my husband was coaching a game at a local high school.  I hated going to that high school and not for the reasons you might expect.  I hated going there because the bleachers were the kind that had an opening just below the seats that was big enough for a child to fall through to the ground.  The higher we sat on the bleachers, the farther the fall could be.  I liked to sit at the top of the bleachers so I could see the whole field better.  

So safety wasn't first at this particular game and I chose to sit at the top of the bleachers.  The three oldest kids were being water boys/girl, I had my 3 year old daughter sitting by me and my 1 year old twins on my lap.  Needless to say, I was very busy and nervous about the hole right beneath my seat.

Now I know what you are thinking........that one of my kids fell through the hole in the bleachers but no.

I sat there in those dangerous bleachers and tried to be fun.  I even tried to teach the younger children the finer points of the game.  I pointed out the guy with weird and very tight coaching shorts and said, "Look there's daddy".  I never even realized that Ty and Jens were missing.  

Ty and Jensine

Ty and Jensine are the middle kids and were about 7 years old at the time.  I had ordered them to stay nearby me or at least together and not wander off or fall through the bleacher hole.

They managed one of their tasks.  Surprisingly they didn't fall through the bleachers but they did however, wander off.  I'll be honest, I really didn't notice that they were missing until my neighbor sitting next to me, who was a police officer of the law,  inquired as to their whereabouts.  I calmly answered that they were probably buying something at the concession stand (which is the main reason they attended the games) but that they would pop up eventually.  My children are like homing pigeons.  No matter how many times I lose them they always come home.   

Like any other football game, the announcer continuously gives a play by play of the game.   All the coaches are very serious and bossing all the players.   The football players are serious and grunt and yell a lot while patting other players on the rear end.   Football is a very serious event.  My husband Mickey does not appreciate my shenanigans when he is out on the field coaching and the kids must be serious water boys/girl.  No messing around.  

Jensine and uhh...I can't remember

But this game had a just one little hitch.  Right in the middle of the announcers play by play he paused...............then he said to the entire stadium filled with my husband's students, neighbors, family and friends that he needed to make an announcement.  I thought this is unusual.  They don't usually stop their play by play to make an announcement unless it's halftime or something like that.  The announcer then said,  "I have two missing children.  One's name is Jensine Taylor and the other one............. more pausing................and the other one can't remember his name!"  


Coach Mickey looked up, searched the crowd, shook his head (I thought I saw him pull a crusty aimed at me) and turned back around.  One of the players then patted HIS rear end.  


Mickey should have been thrilled, is the way I look at it.  Someone had just found his two lost kids and he didn't even have to go looking himself. 


I put one twin on each hip, told my 3 year old to hang onto my back pocket and we went to retrieve the lost children from the announcers box.  By the time I had gathered everyone, I decided that we had had enough football for the evening and we went home.


I'm off now to search for one of the twins.  I seem to have lost him but I know that if I can't find him he will return anyway.  They always do.