Relative Something

There is one highlight from Saturday’s games, that especially stands out for me. It was during the first round of the watermelon eating contest, which involved the youngest competitors.

First, you have to consider what it is like to gather 80 people together in such an informal, fun-filled environment. There are usually at least 30 people (plus or minus) talking over each other at the same time. It is hard for the “official” game hosts to control both the crowd and the willing participants.

Now, imagine a situation where you are setting watermelon in front of anxious young kids, who are being energized by the surrounding crowd. While the game hosts are diligently distributing melon to each additional eager competitor that finds a spot at the table, the odds of a false start rise to, oh… 100%.

It was my nephew, Beck, who went the farthest, before he was “busted” by the crowd. He stopped abruptly, pulled his head up, with lips pursed and mouth filled with bites. His priceless expression, that I can only describe as a morphed combination of genuine innocence and guilt, was hilarious! I was laughing so hard, I didn’t get a shot of the actual moment, but here he is, just as his face was about to cross over to a smile that was no less precious to witness:

He recomposed himself and put in a valiant performance, keeping his hands behind his back, as the slice of watermelon slid farther and farther out of reach toward the center of the table.

After the games transitioned down to the water, Beck found a way to get out and relax a little with a turn on the paddle board. Few challenges appear beyond his willingness to take on, at this stage of his young life.

His parents will have the pleasure of being both proud, and distressed, by his confidence in adventures up at the lake this summer.