An Entry On My Springy-Nerd-Like Neck

Mid December to late February is a busy time for my kids. We refer to it as "nerd season". We The People, Model UN, and Youth and Government all have their culminating events during this time and I will probably have only one non-holiday weekend free. Lots of these kids do all three events, and we laud them for completing "The Nerd Trifecta".

Nerd season kicked off early this year with We The People district competition this past Saturday. It was a lovely time, the kids exceeded my expectations.

Sometimes I wonder how I must look while listening to my kids compete. I go into this otherworldly state of notetaking, concentration, and active active listening accompanied by nodding. It's quite intense and I am usually worn out after a day of competing.

I had an interesting talk with one of the many parents that went with us this weekend (we had some fifteen spectators, all of whom were appropriately proud). After this wonderful morning of watching children speak intelligently, his first thought was, in all seriousness,

"You must be really tired now."
"Yeah, it takes a lot out of me."
"How tired is your neck, you know, from all the nodding?"
"Um...well...a little bit. I guess maybe I looked a bit like a dashboard
dog or something?"
"Yes! You did! That's it!!"

It's good that children have the biggest nerd ever leading them in nerd season.