The Silent Auction

The Annual St. Michael's Church Ball Tournament was held yesterday.  All the money raised went to the church.

The ball tournament is suppose to be 'family fun'....NOT competitive.

I played last year on our 'family' team.  I had no idea what I had gotten myself into.  I was playing against people who could catch the ball and whip it all the way from outfield into home plate.  I wanted to curl into a ball and fall to the ground and scream out that I just couldn't take it.  It was intense.  It was competitive.  I'm just not competitive.....when it comes to ball.

This year, my brother once again entered a team.  I got Johanna and Grady to get their friends to play....so that I would not have to play again.  It worked.  I didn't have to play.  I could go and sit at the barbeque and visit and enjoy the music and eat.  It was good.

Then I got looking at the items at the silent auction.

I decided that I needed those beautiful potted flowers....and I needed those water guns....the ones that come with a backpack that you fill with water.  I was thinking of Jack....he was too young to play in the ball tournament and he decided that he would rake hay for the day and not even go to the barbeque.  I thought.....I will buy those for Jack because he works so hard....and he loves water guns.

But it turns out that small town church silent auctions are more competitive and intense than the ball tournament.

While the 'younger', tougher crowd was battling it out on the ball field, all of the rest of us....including children, seniors and mothers were battling it out at the silent auction.

Seriously.

They hadn't set an amount that you had to out bid someone by.  Some items were going up by $1...one item was marked at $5.16 by a young boy.  It's hard to bid against a child.  It's hard to bid against your neighbour....or a grandmother....or the parish priest.  And then there is the one guy that everyone knows is going to just out bid you know matter how badly you want it.  If he wants it....he is going to pay for it.

The last few moments were intense....they hollered '8 minutes and the silent auction closes!'....and everyone went into a flutter.

I had to bid against the little boys, the grandmother and the parish priest.

I won my flowers and the water guns. 

I was delighted!

Then Sophie told me that actually, I didn't win anything...because I had to pay for it.  She burst my bubble.

But when I saw Jack's face looking at those water guns.....it was all worth it.

And all the money went to the church.

But I did hear someone say when the dust had settled that the silent auction might be cancelled for next year.....because people just weren't acting very Christian like.

They were kidding.

I think.

Brenda