The Number Field

Last night I got an email from Caroline that the UT cheerleading team would be doing a photo shoot at the boathouse this morning. She said it would be a good chance to correlate with the other boatman about summer projects. Also, we could help out with the photo shoot when they needed to move boats and oars around. Elena is always welcome at the boathouse, so we got dressed in our Texas clothes, loaded up and headed up there this morning.

The cheerleaders were all very cute with Elena. When they came in, I asked them to bring her to me if for some reason she started crying while I wasn't in the immediate vicinity. I guess they didn't all hear--a little later, while I was giving Elena her sippy cup (it was hot out), one of the girls came up and asked if I knew Elena's age. I said "I'm her father, of course I do!" She hadn't heard my previous announcement, and wasn't clear about whether Elena was with me or one of the other rowing people assisting at the event. Later on, Caroline and Jimmy (the other boatman) did a good job playing with her while I was holding a boat.

Even though she would usually be taking a nap during that time, Elena was awake, alert, and happy for much of the morning. She especially liked sitting on the dock in her stroller and looking out across the lake. The light was coming in from the wrong angle, so we couldn't see any fish in the shallows. But there were birds flying, fish jumping further out, and people in various boats gliding by.

As I understand it, the cheerleaders are working on a calendar, in which they show their support for the different varsity sports that UT sponsors. They took a boat down to the dock and got in, as if they were about to go for a row. I haven't ever seen such clean clothes or carefully done makeup in a rowing shell.

After they were done on the dock and carried the boat back to the boathouse, I could tell that Elena was ready to go. She helped me put the oars away, then I asked if any of the remaining cheerleaders would take a picture with her. They were happy to oblige. The official photographer also took a couple of shots of the girls with Elena. I'm sure they're better than this one, so I hope I get copies eventually.