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Throwing chairs

Today after church we held a folding chair throwing contest.* There were 2 categories: under 16 and everyone else. Amanda obviously figured out that she was under 16, so she walked right up to the line. A 12 year old boy had gotten there first, so we shooed Amanda out of the way, but as soon as he finished, Amanda walked right back up and stood, ready to receive her chair.

The person who was running the contest was a bit perplexed, and asked if she needed help. She didn't think so, but I stood next to her. Unfortunately, Luke took that as a sign that he should help out too. I think I was most concerned that Amanda and Luke not get hurt, since the contest involved throwing the chair backwards over your head, but it wasn't a problem since the contest organizer gave the chair a little extra "boost". Not a bad throw for a 4 year old! Eleanor followed quickly and gave her chair a good throw---she didn't quite reach the 12 year old's mark, but it was definitely a respectable effort.

It was actually appropriate that Amanda and Luke (and the other kids) took part, since putting away chairs is a favorite thing to do after church. It was highly amusing, none the less---especially the way that Amanda just assumed without hesitation that they ought to participate.



*This contest was to celebrate the end of setting up/tearing down the church and putting it into some storage units between every service. For the summer we don't need to tear down every week, since we meet at a school that is not in session. In a few weeks we hope to be in a dedicated building, so it will no longer be an issue. The contest was organized by the youth pastor, and was even more fun than it sounds, which perfectly illustrates why he is the youth pastor and I am not.

If you are interested, the youth pastor (who is very very tall) won first place and the head pastor won 2nd, by quite a margin. Michael was in 4th or 5th, after having held the lead for quite some time. I can say quite confidently that it is all in how the chair bounces after it lands---even a good throw, with no bounce, won't go the distance. (Advice for the next time you are in a folding chair throwing contest.)
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