Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Mascot respect!

I know this is strange, but for a long time I’ve always wanted to be a mascot. (It’s on my list, along with being a cheerleader! Yeah, yeah, I know it’s lame.) LOL! I love mascots, they always look like they are having so much fun. What an awesome job to have! Making people laugh, giving high-fives and hugs, posing for pictures. Best of all, no talking and no one knows who you are! So, when Zoë’s school PTA asked for volunteers to parade around as the fundraiser mascot, I decided to step out of my comfort zone again. (I hope this outside of the comfort zone thing doesn’t become a habit.)

I did a stint as a mascot in college for a bit. But, it wasn’t one of the furry costumes, with the large head. No anonymity. It was still fun, but not as fun as totally being anonymous. I still felt self-conscious. In high-school I worked a couple of summers at Kings Dominion. I worked on one of the rides, but always wanted to be one of the characters. I would get close to applying and would talk myself out of it. Plus, those were some hot summers, so I could only imagine the condition of those costumes. LOL! The application process also required a “try out”, and I was really shy back then.


 
So, this morning, I donned the bear costume, complete with giant head, and headed out to the school carpool line. If you overlook being extremely hot, it was a lot of fun. The kids were great! Tons of hugs, high-fives, fist bumps & waves. I even got to pose for a picture with one little girl. I think I made a lot of people smile today, even some of the teachers. LOL! I skipped around, danced, twirled and opened doors. The tough part for me was keeping my mouth shut. (Let’s just say Zoë comes by her chattiness naturally.) When I saw people I knew, I wanted to talk so bad I could hardly stand it! After hanging out at the drop off, I headed to the student news room to be on the morning news. I’m sure Zoë got a kick out of telling her classmates her mom was the bear. LOL!


 
I don’t know if I’ll do it again, maybe. The only thing that would really stop me would be the blazing heat felt in that thing. (When I was told to dress lightly, that was an understatement!) Something tells me the PTA didn’t get a lot of takers for this volunteer opportunity, so I’ll probably get asked again. LOL! And, I’ll probably say yes. LOL!

2 comments:

  1. I'm so glad it was all worth it - all of that "outside the comfort zone" thing! Maybe the dance classes and the mascot thing really do go together, with all of that skipping and twirling.....

    You did it!!!! Check it off the list!

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  2. That's so awesome!! Glad you got to live out one of your long time "list" items! Get yourself a standard "under the bear," keep cool outfit, because you will definitely be asked again. And you should definitely say yes!!

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