Being an introvert makes this kind of thing slightly more than slightly uncomfortable for me. Everyone that works with my husband knows my name because they have all heard my dear one talk about me and the rest of the family. While I have met most of the team once or twice, it has always been in a group situation (like, at the office) where I see a lot of faces and hear a lot of names all at once and can't remember anyone once I walk out the door. My dear one is very good at reminding me of names when we're walking up to someone but still...awkward.
So, with slight trepidation on my part, my dear one and our youngest two daughters and I headed to the picnic. The girls had their swim suits with them, in hopes of going for a swim in the nearby lake.
The thing about picnics is, small talk, shop talk and cute babies can only take you so far. Food is helpful to have around because it keeps you busy, first setting up and cooking and then eating and commenting on it and how much of it there is and how good so and so's such and such is.
What picnics really need are great games. It gets the attendees involved, and creates camaraderie among teammates.
This picnic had water balloons for the kids, since nothing bonds kids faster than a great water fight. Adults bond over water games as well. And there was a really fun one to play.
I have no idea what it was called, but it consisted of a PVC pipe stuck in a block of wood so it was held in a vertical position. A ping pong ball was dropped into each pipe (there were two, one for each team) and a runner had to take a small plastic cup and run to a bucket of water, fill the cup and run back to the pipe.
The pipe was filled one cupful at a time and this allowed the ball to rise to the top of the pipe. There was, however, a catch; the pipe had holes in it at various intervals along its length. Team members had to plug the holes with their fingers, stretched at awkward angles, to allow enough water to stay in the pipe to lift the ball. Neither team was able to do this because not enough adults were willing to take a chance on getting wet to play along. I did, though, and it was fun.
Even cheating, in the form of dumping the contents of the bucket into the pipe, was tried, but to no avail.
The excitement and laughter relaxed me enough that I was willing to talk to a woman who was taking photos of the proceedings and she texted me the photos. Turns out she is the mom of one of the young guys who works with my dear one. And, bonus, her name is Mary! So, I know the face and that name I'll never forget.
The girls had a blast even though they did not get to swim. It's a good thing we brought the bathing suits though, because by the time the water fight was over their clothing was drenched and they ended up wearing their dry bathing suits home.
They are looking forward to next year's picnic already. I guess I am, too.
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