We attended the Sons of Norway annual picnic yesterday afternoon and had a wonderful time. Just the kiddos and I as DH had made plans to fly RC planes with his buddy. He has also told me that he is expected to socialize, mingle and work with people as a part of his job… on the weekends and evenings, he is very tired (his job is intense and stressful) and prefers to just relax, do whatever chores need doing, and invest his free time in his family and personal interests.
I understand what he is saying… where he is coming from. He is a very social person. When we are together, I rely upon him to get conversations started. I am generally very quiet in large groups… I’m really quite shy when I don’t know anyone. It is actually beneficial that I attend these functions on my own as it forces me to open up and engage others in conversation. The only drawback is that it is difficult to do this when I must also watch the kiddos.
We haven’t yet had the opportunity to meet everyone – I know only a handful of the other members. One woman I met today, Priscilla, is originally from England. When we returned home and I was glancing at the lodge newsletter I discovered that she is a marathon runner and was recently inducted into the Distance Runners Hall of Fame. She won the Boston marathon in …. and hold many Masters records. I wish I had known this at the time I met her – I would have loved to talk more and even to ask for her autograph! I will certainly seek her out at the next gathering.
When we first arrived, Sweetie had brought along a cross-stitch project she had just started. She got to work on it right away and many of the older ladies were intrigued and impressed that Sweetie was doing it on her own. One woman asked her her age and Sweetie said she would be 6 next month. “Oh. You’ll be starting school soon. Where will you go?” The woman inquired. “I homeschool.” The woman smiled and said, “You are very blessed.” Sweetie replied, “Yes. I am lucky.” The woman then looked at me and with a smile asked, “So I would guess she is at the 3rd grade level?” I answered, “In some subject areas, nearly so.” Sweetie announces, “I love math! I’m starting a 2nd grade book soon!” 
Shortly after everyone had eaten, the games began. The social committee members had done a spectacular job organizing everyone and getting everyone involved. I was impressed with not only the variety of games but also with how everyone participated. The games were very simple and brought everyone to riotous laughter.
The games started with a Water Balloon Toss. The kids loved this and soon, the adults were joining in on the fun. It turned out to be a great way to get everyone up and motivated as it was a rather humid afternoon. The group was then divided into two teams. Between the teams were two sawhorses with a 2×4 laid across the top and secured with vise-grips. Each team then took turns attempting to strike a nail with a hammer while holding it with just one hand (the little ones were given an exemption from this rule). The first team to get the nail all the way through was declared the winner. We played several rounds of this game (I’ll call it Hammer Relay) – it was a huge hit!
Another game involved teamwork, as pairs had to work together to move two planks across the playing field. This game was appropriately called Troll Feet and illustrated upon the planks were the painted red toes of a troll. The highlight of the day, though, was undeniable a Rubber Boot Toss whereby participants, divided into two teams, raced one another to fling an adult man’s rubber boot through your legs and up and over your backside (you had to bend over to do this). The goal was to get the boot to go forward ahead of where you were standing, but this took a little getting used to. My first attempt sent the boot about 20 feet behind me which set my team back a huge margin. We managed to catch up but were not able to make up the difference in time.
We all had a great time – particularly the kiddos. We look forward to future gatherings. I would like to get more involved – we’ll see what opportunities may develop.