When Patience Pays Off

I'm one of the lucky few that is assigned to tend the hundreds of screaming first - third graders for an hour during lunch recess. The hour can be long sometimes but there are occasional shining moments that make it all worth while.

There's a small hill leading down to the mini-field where the youngsters play football and soccer. Since it's been raining pretty heavy for the past few days there's a huge mud area right on that hill and quite frankly I've been watching that spot a lot lately. Why? Because I've been waiting for a kid to come flying past there and totally slide into it. I've been waiting all week and there have been quite a few close calls. But the little buggers always seem to be able to keep on their feet!

But today was my lucky day. Little Hunter, a second grader, came running towards the hill. Poor kid never saw it coming. He ran and ran and then WHAM! His feet slid out from under him, he caught a bit of air and then that kid face planted it right into the thick, gushy mud! Sara and I both saw it happen and since we're both mature adults, paid to tend the children, we immediately burst into laughter. Hunter looked up at us, covered from head to toe in mud, and saw us laughing. He got up, smiled at us (showing off all his missing teeth) and then ran off to finish his game of chase with his friends. Sometimes... just sometimes... patience really pays off.