Momma was working the pole.... well kinda

My youngest received some great news last year.  He was nominated by his teacher to serve on the school's Flag Patrol.  This is a great honor and it comes with great responsibility.  The members of the Flag Patrol is required to be a role model for their peers, they are to maintain their grades, and perfect attendance is a requirement as well.  My Champ was a perfect nomination as he fit the criteria and he takes this job seriously.  So seriously in fact that while sightseeing in our Nation's Capital this summer, we were standing in line waiting for the Holocaust Museum to open and they called for all Military and Federal Employees to come forward, my son humbly raised his hand and asked "What about Flag Patrol?  You know, the people that raise and lower the flag at school."  While that provided entertainment for the crowd, his little heart was broken - this is how seriously he takes this responsibility.

This week they are taking a writing test at school and their class schedule was thrown off a bit.  My son came home yesterday and said that his teacher did not dismiss the Flag Patrol to take the flag down.  We were leaving the house, heading to an appointment, and once we passed the local high school and my son saw the flag, he screamed "Oh my goodness... the flag is still up!"  Please know that he was not concerned about the high school flag, he was thinking about his school's flag.. the one several miles back... the one we already passed... the one that is actually in our back yard!!!

I pull over and I call the school, and it was confirmed that the flag was still up.  This was one of those "What we gonna do now?" moments.

My son, the confident young man that he is, assured me that he could do it with my assistance.  Seriously????!!!!  I did not go through Flag Patrol Training!!!!  I remember holding the flag in Elementary School and in Sunday School -- the small flags on wooden dowels.  I HAVE NEVER WORKED THE POLE!!

I turned the car around, headed back to the school, and fear set in.  My son again told me we could do this.... and we did it!!!  Even though he teased me that the flag almost touched the ground (it really did not).  The most rewarding part for me was when we went to fold the flags, he let me flip the triangle portions of the flags... how rewarding.

I should have him let their sponsor know that I can walk over and fill in anytime... well, not in the mornings, but in the afternoons... provided I am not on a conference call or something.  Just consider me to be a back up to the back-up.

~ Thanks for KeepingupwKaren