E-A-G-L-E-S! Eagles!

For our family, the Fall means football.  Not that the Salad and I understand the sport, or even try for that matter, but that Daddy goes to the games.  It means Uncle Todd picks Daddy up VERY early in the morning and drops Daddy off at the house VERY late that night.  It means we re-learn the Eagles fight song every year.  It means tailgate talk of hoagies and hot dogs at 8:00 AM.

This year, R wanted to share that with the Salad.  So, last Thursday, he came home early and went to work setting up the finest tailgate feast a 4 year old could enjoy.  The 4 of them had made a list the night before, complete with a hand drawn football.  Hot dogs, Pringles, fruit salad (the eating kind, not the people kind), juice boxes and chocolate chip cookies.  He packed chairs for us all and the Salad made sure to bring along a football.  S was heartbroken the next morning when she realized "we forgot to bring a radio so we could dance like Daddy and Uncle Todd!"

The tailgate before the actual game was the best part.  The weather was perfect and the food hit the spot.  Our fellow tailgaters were charmed by our piggy-tailed girls in matching pink jerseys and a cute boy who insisted on "spiking his own hair."

For once, I went into the night with a laid back attitude.  I am fairly low key, but come our 7:30 PM bedtime, I can see the end in sight.  I'm tired by then, physically, mentally and emotionally.  I kinda get antsy for the quiet that comes.  But last night the game started at 7:30 PM.  I knew I would have to pull out all of my songs and dances to keep the Salad happy.  I let them take pictures of anything they wanted.  We counted all of the pictures of eagles we could find.  We fed them pretzels.  Everyone handled the late night as well as could be expected.  "As well as could be expected" meaning, every 2 minutes M asked if we could go back to the car.  3 minutes and 7 seconds into the game, A asked "when would the Eagles start playing the game?" and S held her hands over her ears the whole time, for fear they would set the fireworks off again and they were "just too loud for her."   

We got home and had a sleeping Salad by 10:00 PM.

They only way it could have been more perfect is if a late bedtime meant a late morning wake up.  But no - my early rising boy greeted R as he left for work, bright and early at 6:30 AM the next day.