I love a good picnic

Sunday morning, I hemmed and hawed to answer a simple question: Are you going to the picnic tonight? (Don't you love my use of Southern phrases?) I don't mind going to picnics, but I didn't necessarily want to make the haul out to the state park, and I didn't necessarily want to go out and find some food so that I could make an appetizer to take. With a busy week and a Saturday of work coming my way, I knew I really shouldn't go if I didn't have my life in some semblance of order.  Finally I gave the best answer I could, "If I can get enough done today, then I'll be there."  Long story short, I was there.  Simply, I didn't want to pass up the chance for some quality time with friends while having fun and eating lots of yummy, free food.

Seeing as this was a church picnic, the first order of the night was baptisms in the river.  Dedicated (ha) readers may remember that I went swimming in a river, only to find myself jumping out when I was told about the resident gator.  This would be THAT river.  I wasn't the only one thinking about this, as several people standing near me on the bank of the river joked about shouting "gator!" as the people waded into the water.  It was a neat experience, a la Round Lake, and I realized I still am slightly shocked when a group of 100 people spontaneously starting singing hymns a capella.

After the baptisms we headed up for food.  The line was SO long and SO slow, but it worked in everyone's favor.  We stood around and just chatted with friends in line, playfully chided "cutters," and caught up on life in general.  I even saw a few faces that I haven't seen in awhile and got to say "hey" to them.

The line was worth the wait.  Let me just explain how much better Southern picnic food is than Northern picnic food: Every other dish was macaroni and cheese, there was cornbread and biscuits, huge piles of watermelon, fried chicken (even though I don't eat it, it sure smells good), and the drink table was 50% tea.  Not "sweetened" or "unsweetened," just simply "tea." There was some potato salad and some baked beans, but it wasn't as prevalent as I'm used to seeing.  The desserts were out of this world too.  Delish.

 All of this pales in comparison to the social aspect though.  It was cool to look out upon the picnic area and take in the sheer volume of attendees.  Families were clumped together; eating, laughing, and playing.  Kids of all ages were running around in between the clumps, playing everything from tag to soccer.  Watching two year-olds "throw" Frisbees® is absolutely hilarious.  For my part, I sat in the shade and just chatted with people from my small group.  I got to know a few people a little better, and got to enjoy some very good conversation.

The night ended with a few games of "Nuke 'Em."  The best way I can describe this is by calling it "fake volleyball."  Essentially, you throw the ball over the net, and someone on the other side catches it.  If it drops, they're out.  This goes on and on until the last man standing wins. While it might not seem like much, there's no small amount of strategy involved; and as the number of your teammates dwindle, you're running like a chicken with it's head cut off.  

The party wound down a little quicker than some expected, but it was probably good, considering the amount of mosquitoes flying around and feasting on the attendees.  Overall though, it was a beautiful evening, one I look forward to repeating next year.  I love a good picnic.

Well, I'm looking forward to another fun night of conversation and laughter, and a few games of "Spanish hangman."  If C.J. can't go to Spanish class, we'll bring Spanish class to her!