(Yes, stealing a meme from Rent.) Eight years. Only yesterday, yet forever ago. A hard day.
I spent most of the day running judging again at a FIRST LEGO League Regional tournament. I've written about FLL before, but I’ll say it again: all of FIRST is great. It has programs for kids from 6 through high school.
And beyond: today’s overall champion was an all-girl team (for which I always have a soft spot, for obvious reasons), coached by five young ladies who are themselves FLL veterans. Back in the day, they won a Regional, then States, and went to Nationals. Now they’re giving back, and it shows.
As head judge, I have the luxury of floating around throughout the day, and I sat in on several judging sessions. Not to check up on anyone—we’ve got a crew of veteran judges who sure don’t need my help!—but so I can see a bit of the teams in action. Among others, I managed to catch both the Project and Core Values judging for this team, and so when my judges came back and rated them #1 in both of those categories, I could appreciate why.
As I said, a hard day, but the tournament was therapeutic for me. It’s always great seeing these young kids competing and having a ball, and reminds me of happier times with our girl.
The Kt we loved
"I just might hurt you if you don't move that camera." — Kt
