The first week of school went by in a blink and we made it through relatively unscathed (see We have a winner folks). By Fridays, I am toast and I look forward to not doing too much of anything as I become one with the couch, but not this particular Friday. After school, I rushed home to let the dog out, get one kid to a doctor’s appointment and make sure my other kiddo was packed and ready for a weekend church retreat with hundreds of middle schoolers (pray for those chaperones !!) and then fulfill my football mom commitment to work concessions for the Friday night varsity game.
I got the down and dirty version of concession 101, meaning they showed me where the price list was posted and pointed towards the money till with a “good luck”! I work in an elementary school, so I thought I knew a thing or two about crowd control (wrong), and off I went. There were three kinds of snack bar personalities that immediately stood out to me: the waffler (umm, uh, I’m not sure…), the drill sergeant (give me a snickers, 2 pizzas, 3 cokes, 2 waters and a pretzel with the cheese sauce on the side, 4 popcorns and here is the correct change. Now go,go,go!), and the exhausted moms surrounded by a gaggle of children bouncing with the energy levels of Jack Russells (get them whatever, here’s a twenty, thanks). They usually walked away without their change in a daze…bless their hearts.
It was great to see former students of mine wander up to the window. It made me feel old to realize some of them were starting their freshman year of high school and I didn’t want to make a big deal, embarrassing them in front of their peers. I saw friends from my old neighborhood and former families that I had worked with at Scottish Rite years ago, the kids all growing up at the speed of light. The carnival of Friday night football finally wound down just before eleven p.m., way past my bedtime. I drove home smelling of pizza, feeling a little sweaty and exhausted, and headed immediately into a hot shower. I am signed up to do this again in October, but I don’t mind really. I will be ready. Next time I am bringing my megaphone, wearing comfy sneakers and taking a nap first.
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Tags: Alpharetta, concession stand, food, football, friday nights, kids, neighbors
Heidi,
I have done the concessions duty more than I care to admit. There are personality types working there too…I personally belong to the group who hates to have to “cypher” on the spot , so I try to stay away from the cash box. Opting instead to make hundreds of burgers and dogs and “gophering” drinks to the counter! Then there are the “regular”workers who seem to know everything about everything and where everything is… thank goodness for them!And since we live in Alpharetta, there are always the barbie dolls who show up and act as if they have no idea what to do or how to figure it out…
Have a great week!
Deb
I get the same feeling when the kids i used to babysit are suddenly standing in front of the church telling us about their high school grad and college plans… how did that happen?
Debbie, I love it- “Alpharetta barbies”! Oh to be so blonde and clueless!! Thanks for the tip to stay away from the money-I felt like my brain was going to explode from all that math
Teresa Dawn-just wait until the kids you used to babysit start getting married and having babies of their own! Time absolutely does speed up the older you get
My mom was right!