recess

today i wished that i had emulated dorothea lange, and worn my camera like an appendage. but my canon rebel without digital capabilities remains more of a purse, often worn over my shoulder, but chosen only for certain occasions. thus i have no image caught on film of a pristine moment at recess this afternoon. i spontaneously offered my sixth graders 15 minutes of extra outdoor bliss today. so why am i surprised to find myself the recipient of this gift.

as i walked around 16 kids at play, my eyes framed 3 of my students standing a top a hill, playing a carefree game of "kick the ball down the hill" to their friends waiting below. without a playground, or even the luxury of grass, improvisation becomes the game for many of our students. our playground is the fire line at the enormous high school campus that has genuinely welcomed our orphaned school this year after our mold crisis.

instead of swings, slides, and a grass field, you might see four-square drawn with a rock on the pavement, "touch" football on asphalt, or a modern game of "push each other off the rock" to see who can stand the longest. after a snow, there was "take a running start and launch yourself over the hill" to see who could land the furthest.

now the girls have devised a game of a few above and others below simply kicking the ball in both directions- of course the challenge being that those below can kick it high and far enough to reach the outstreched arms above.

no image exists in print or digital format of that glorious afternoon sky filled with silver-lined cotton clouds serving as a backdrop for three 12 year old girls silhoutted against it. and no close-up shot cemented the moment after the whistle blwe when one of these girls, blue eyed with freckles, and cheeks rosy from exercise in the cool fresh air, expressed her pure delight in the simply joy of kicking a ball so that it sails across the sky and down the hill.

recess. perhaps we should all go outside and play together for 15 minutes everyday.