Starlight Parade

So. . .Russ, in a fit of generosity, decides to volunteer us to be chaperones of the Heritage cheerleaders at the Rose Festival Starlight Parade. I love my husband, but REALLY. . .did he KNOW what he was getting us into? He did not, and, as I began to pessimistically share what our life was going to be for the next several hours, he began to wilt. What a crybaby I was! How glad I am he committed us to the event because it was a lot of fun.

In years past I have gone as a spectator, but this time we were water carriers extraordinaire. Kade (the youngest of the four boys) was up for a visit. I was wondering how he was going to do with the march, but he was a complete stud. He kept up, and swooped upon glow necklaces that had fallen along the way and distributed them to children sitting on the sidelines.

Zak, part of the national championship winning team, and Davey did several tosses whenever our group stopped. We parents were at the tail end marshalling the wagon carrying water and several water bottles. We only had one wagon, and were fortunate that one quick thinking parent, in tandem with the generosity of a local restaurant, refilled the large water carrier so that we would have enough. It was a toasty night, and the band members (wearing their wool uniforms) got heated pretty quickly, as did our cheerleaders and color guard. The kids were troopers, and we'll hear later how they did in the judging.

The Starlight Parade is a much shorter route than the Grand Floral Parade, which I understand is six miles. It was a relief to learn that our route was going to be about half that--which is the amount of walking I do with our Great Dane, Lizzie. We got home around midnight, and every one of us was ready to tuck ourselves in and call it a day. Would I do it again? ABSOLUTELY! It was a thrill to see our boy up at the front, tossing his flyer. I was also surprised at the number of parade watchers who were cheering for the parents who were following the parade--obviously, it was a bunch who had been there and done that at one point or another themselves. Not only that, I am now becoming a little more adept at squirting water into a moving kid's mouth without drowning them.