“Shit Happens!”

Since I referenced Forrest Gump in my last post about the importance of play, I figured “Why stop?” The Capture the Flag event at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco was incredible and quite international. In addition to the US of A, players hailed from Canada, China, Colombia, France, and New Zealand. There was a good mix of people that I know well and ones I’ve never met, but it wasn’t all blueberry pie and beer…

Photo by Jelleke Vanooteghem on Unsplash

Ready for an embarrassing story?

At the risk of international embarrassment, I’m going to share my Capture the Flag story. It was a crucial moment in the game. 5 out of my 7 teammates had been captured, and it was up to me to save them. Pink tutus are many things: beautiful, ballerina-like, fun, but they’re not exactly covert. I strategically placed my tutu in a tree, so that my competitors would think I was a scout and proceeded through the woods, keeping low to the ground as I crossed enemy lines.

Things were going great! I was graceful as I leapt over tree branches, elegantly moved through ivy, and avoided the thorns in my path. I didn’t see anyone from the other team, and I was continuing to stay out of sight, crawling closer to jail.

Victory was close and then…

Victory was close. I could feel it! I looked ahead, peering for scouts over the hill. And then it happened. One wrong move. My left hand went forward, and squish, right into human feces.

“Ughhh! Come on!” I said to myself, quietly of course. “This is disgusting!” I immediately tried to wipe it off on the ivy, hoping it wasn’t poisonous. That was only somewhat effective. Should I stop the game? People would be understanding of the birthday girl taking a time out to wash shit off her hand, but that would ruin my progress and my strategic position. Luckily, there was some rain water that had collected on a black plastic bag, and I took my chances, washing off all the remaining remnants. I had come this far. I wasn’t turning around.

Birthday Dress Up Capture the Flag

Time to Make a Run for It!

There was no holding back now. It was time to make a run for it, and I did. “She’s over here,” I heard Captain Dan yell. “Shit!” I said, kicking it into high gear, running with everything I had towards the jail, where my teammates had made a chain to facilitate their escape. I knew that if I tagged them, we had “free walk backs.” All would be safe, and I could probably take a break to further cleanse my hand.

“Nick,” Julia yelled, “she’s getting away!” Through the grass, up the hill, through the straw, and right as their team member was gaining on me, I tagged my teammate (with my clean hand), freeing us all! I believe it was about that time, we changed our name from “Team Amazing” to “Team Victoire.” It was an epic and valiant battle for another hour, but ultimately our team prevailed!

Don’t let the proverbial stand in your way

My metaphor is fairly obvious. It’s true that “shit happens” in life, sometimes more literally than others, but if we choose to let the difficult or the unexpected get the best of us, we could miss an opportunity to make magic happen.

**A big Thank You from the bottom of my heart to all those near and far who made my birthday weekend/week so amazing!*