Football season has rolled around once again.
Tonight was the first home game. HUGE crowd. It is unbelievable how many people still attend a high school football game . That is one of the great things about ECHS...We love our Indians! The line of people buying tickets right before the game had a LEAST a hundred people in it.
I didn't have to stand in line. If you have a degree in "Fryology" and offer to cook funnel cakes they will escort you in the gate so quickly it makes you think you are fixing to be detained, deported or arrested.
I had the roughest day. Zach chose last night to push me to my already stretched limits. He left when I got home from work to go off with a buddy. I told him as I walked into the house that it was a school night and to be home early. At 3AM when he still wasn't home...I was LIVID. He didn't answer his cell phone (that I pay for) or return any of my texts. I tried to keep my cool in case something terrible had happened but when he strolled in with his buddy at 3:20 I let loose on him like stink on poop. I was furious, I was worried and I was tired.
Just like all eighteen year old boy/men he had a ton of excuses...none of which made sense to me. I got to bed at four...got up before 8:00 to take Massey to school and then came home to find Zach standing in the driveway waiting for me to take him to school. I didn't say a word to him the entire way. Silence is golden when you are really pissed, and I think I got my message across loud and clear.
So with less than four hours of sleep I stumbled into work a day shift. Got off around 4PM...came home and got ready for the ball game.
I had invited Frances (if you read my blog you know who I am talking about) to go to the game with me. She lives in Digby...halfway to Griffin from my house. The traffic was horrible. I guess everyone from Coweta County was using highway 16 to escape for their Labor Day weekend.
I got to the school later than I usually do but my funnel cake tent was all set up with the grease vats a poppin'.
Last year there were six people scheduled to work the funnel cake stand at the first game. By the second game it was the "Tim and Kelly" show.
Tim is working nights now so it is "The Kelly Show."
Frances sat with me as I got everything set up to go. The resource officer at ECHS is a relative of hers and came to take her to a seat in the stands as I starting 'Fryin.'
As I saw the hundred deep line of people at the gate I frantically called Zach (who owed me BIG TIME) and convinced him he needed to come help me. I wouldn't really call it convinced...more of "Told him to get his butt up to the school PRONTO."
Of course he took his time getting there but at least he brought a friend with him. He and his friend helped me dig myself out of my Funnel cake hell and he went to check on Frances in the stands. He brought my cam corder which I had forgotten at the house and took it to Frances and showed her how to use it to film the half time show. I had mentioned to her earlier that I wanted her to film Massey for me in the half time show. She said "Can an idiot do it?" I told her "Well I can."
She did a great job of filming and I hated leaving her alone in the stands but Zach checked on her and Massey went to visit her during her third quarter break.
Went through two five gallon buckets of batter...burned the crap out of myself more than once but we won the game, I survived my solo flight as "The Funnel Cake Queen" and Zach came through for me.
Massey and several of her friends came by and asked why I always did the funnel cakes?
It's because it's a job no one else wants to do...therefore it is a job that needs to be done.
Call me stupid...it won't be the first time.
It's the least I can do. I don't mind hard work, never have. But on less than four hours of sleep and coming straight from my "REAL" job to a volunteer "CRAP" job made for an extremely long day.
I hated to leave Frances alone but I think she had a good time.
You know what is even crazier? I had a good time.
Zach felt better helping me...I could tell. Massey is always proud of me when I am helping at the school...and by the tons of people that came by and said "So you're the expert on funnel cakes now" lets me know that I am doing something right...something helpful and paying it forward.
I don't mind paying it forward...but bubbling grease vats wouldn't be my first choice.
Sometimes you don't have a choice but a decision to do what's right and what helps the most.
I am dog tired...I am covered in funnel cake batter and can still smell them as if I were still frying them.
Missed a huge night at work...probably at least a hundred in the hole for not working, but feel pretty darn good. Zach came through, Frances got to come and film for me and I only cursed out loud once when the grease popped on my arm.
My clothes are filthy, the dogs have licked all the dried batter off my shoes and I am going to bed exhausted...but a good exhausted.
Three more years and all this crazy high school stuff will be behind me. What is even crazier is that I really think I will miss it.
Call me crazy...it certainly won't be the second time or even the last...it's just what I am.
Til next time "CRAZY COTTON"
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