Dream Journal
Bob handed me a gum ball as big as an apple and announced to the room full of children that it was the adults’ turn to run the relay. I was happy that the children were so excited about seeing us running around the circle with giant gum balls.
Bob stuffed his into his mouth as far as it could and bit down. “Makes it easier to eat while running,” he explained. I liked that idea but knew I couldn’t fit the gum ball into my mouth, so I squished it with my hands and the hard shell cracked satisfyingly until the shape was nicely elongated.
The buzzer sounded and around the circle we went. I stuffed the end of my squished gum ball into my mouth and tore off a large piece. The inside of the ball was hollow, and I felt confident that I would finish before the others.
The running path along the circle was narrow and I was able to keep others from passing me. I finished my three required laps in front of everyone else, but had only taken two bites of my gum ball. Looking behind me, I could tell the others were in a similar position. I wasn’t sure if I could stop after the three laps or if I had to finish the gum ball first, so I kept running. As the adults we had created the rules, but hadn’t planned for every contingency.