a field trip

I remember the giddy gasp of excitement that would filter through the classroom when it was announced that a permission slip would be going home. A permission slip meant… a field trip. It almost didn’t matter where we were going, the promise of a break in the ordinary was enough of a reason to celebrate. A field trip also meant a special lunch… Twinkies, or Hostess cupcakes, or the most decadent Suzy Q. My insides still quiver when I think about running my finger over the waxy paper, gathering the last bits of moist chocolate the Suzy Q had left behind. Of course, you couldn’t have a field trip lunch without something to wet your whistle. I would watch as my Mom wrapped that Orange Crush in foil before slipping it into my lunch bag… and I would feel special. Not out of the ordinary special, but the just like everyone else special that you think your soul needs to feel at seven and eight and nine.

Even though the destination was nothing compared to actual adventure of the field trip itself, I have saved memories of horse-shoe crabs on the beach, of the giant T-Rex at the Museum of Science, the Salem Witch Museum and Plymouth Plantation (although I would gladly banish the memories of the wax museum and getting wet in the crossing of the Mayflower!)

It seems today that field trips in school are far and few between, but when that permission slip does come home, you can bet that a special lunch is in order. And if I can, I chaperone… because I remember how much I loved sitting with my Mom on the bus on our way to anywhere. Twice a year, I have a field trip from work… and with giddy excitement, I scrawl the words on my calendar. It is always after lunch, and just down the road a few miles to hang an art show… but it is the break in the ordinary that I love.

Tomorrow, come on by and we’ll make a little field trip ourselves.  I have written my very first guest post, and you are invited. Sharon is celebrating a birthday and her two year blogiversary… at her very new bloggy home.
Don’t forget to wrap your drink in foil… I’ll bring the cupcakes.