A Day in the Life of a Field Trip Chaperone...

First, the chaperone arrives at the farm ahead of the school buses. The chaperone looks around the parking lot and realizes that the majority of the other moms chaperoning today are very, very young. Heck, they barely look old enough to HAVE children! They are cute and trendy, she is not.

The chaperone feels old.

Then the buses arrive. The chaperone finds her adorable son...
...who is super excited that Mommy came along for the field trip.

The chaperone feels happy.

The first stop on the farm tour is the Barnyard Jump...
...and the chaperone has a great time watching her adorable son jump, and run, and play with the other boys...doing activities that would have been impossible for him just a few short years ago.

The chaperone feels incredibly proud.

The rain begins just as they board the hay ride...
...and the adorable son is super glad that his Mommy remembered the BIG umbrella.

The chaperone gets wet.

The group heads into the barn to torment...I mean, pet the farm animals...
...and enjoy the company of very cute girls (that's Paige of Carson's-first-love-letter fame)...
...and suddenly the chaperone feels germy.

The group walks to a different barn...
...learns about the food pyramid...
...milks a pretend cow...
...sees the milking room where the real cows give milk...
...and enjoys the farmer's cartoon illustrations of the milk-making process.

Suddenly, the chaperone is thirsty.

After lots of walking, and listening, and learning, and...well, chaperoning...
...the group heads to the picnic area to eat their packed lunches. The chaperone happily eats alone but notices that her adorable son is the only boy sitting at the girl table...this time with adorable Julianne. Whatta stud, huh?

So, the farm field trip is over. The chaperone has endured the atrocities of a first grade field trip with rambunctious kids to a smelly farm on a cold and rainy Tuesday morning. She heads to her minivan, freezing cold, soaking wet, and looking forward to a quiet afternoon in her empty house.

As the kids head to the bus to go back to school, the chaperone's adorable son smiles and happily waves goodbye.

And the chaperone feels blessed.