I’m entering month 2 of my new job away from TV news at Riley Children’s Foundation. I still love, love, LOVE my work environment. I feel great about being able to tell kids’ stories and help bring critical support to the hospital that does so much for so many. And the daytime schedule continues to blow my mind! After 15 years in broadcasting, working a variety of extreme schedules, I have crazy moments nearly every day now where I want to pinch myself to see if I’m dreaming.
One of those happened last Friday night when Ian and I took the kids to a local high school football game. “It’s my very first football game,” Cal told me as we walked up to the stadium. I stopped in my tracks. Somehow I just hadn’t realized that with my bizarre work schedule, we had never – even once – managed to get our 9-year-old boy to a football game of any kind.
I swallowed the guilty lump in my throat. “You’re gonna love it, Cal,” I told him.
We sat in the end zone with the marching band since Ian coaches their drumline. Daisy danced to the music, Cal and Clara stared in awe as those big boys ran through the tunnel, through the smoke, and onto the field. We stopped to say hi to the WRTV6 team which happened to be there covering the game, and waved to the news chopper as it took off.
I kept looking back and forth from Ian to each of the kids, amazed that we were finally participating in an all-American tradition that would have been impossible with my previous night-shift schedule.
We ate hot dogs and kettle corn, cheered for the touchdowns, and laughed with the band members.
I took lots of pictures so I would remember that feeling – seeing our family enjoying an “ordinary Friday night” that felt awfully extraordinary to me.