Funny story

So, this afternoon Hollie's school had their annual picnic lunch at a local park.  It was a potluck, so that morning I made a big ol' pan of jambalaya.  The girls had both been a little congested yesterday, but they were good as new this morning.  We probably should have skipped it, just because they had been sick so recently, but I had been really really looking forward to meeting some other parents, so we went (hence scrambling to cook a quadruple-quadruple recipe on the day-of, instead of the night before as I had intended).

We got to the park just a few minutes late, but it seemed like there weren't very many people there.  Maybe five families.  I let Hollie loose and carried the food to a table (left sleeping Blake in the car).  The few other moms that were standing around told me right away that someone with a smartphone had checked their email and seen a message sent out this morning that the picnic had been cancelled due to weather (which obviously no one present had seen).  It was overcast and I think it had rained overnight, but we hadn't had a drop all morning.  I learned (later) that last year's picnic got quite a bit of rain and it was a bit of a disaster, and I guess maybe they cancelled this time because they figured with even a slight chance of rain, people would be scared of a repeat experience.

Anyway, someone said, well we might as well eat, but we quickly remembered that the school was going to provide the plates and utensils, so we had nothing to eat with.  I heard scattered mumblings of, well that's a shame, and I guess we'll just let the kids play for a few minutes and then head home.  I just looked at all the bowls and platters of food on the table and said, Whoa-whoa-whoa, let me run down to the Fred Meyer on the corner and I'll get us some things to eat with.  Someone said, hmm, good idea! and the others agreed.  It seemed like an obvious solution to me!  I couldn't believe they were all about to just leave!!!  So with Hollie under another mama's watchful eye, still-sleeping Blake and I drove a half-mile to the grocery store and were back in twenty minutes with plates, utensils, and paper towels.  All we were missing was something to drink, which the school had said they would also provide.  Someone brought a few water bottles from their car, and we had ourselves a picnic.  At that point I think we had two main dishes and about four desserts, so it was a sugary lunch at first, until more people showed up late (unaware of the email) with salads and other main dishes, thankfully.

We had a great time, plenty of food, and everyone commented that they were really glad they had stayed.  I hope the school reschedules the picnic, so we can do it again!