We are transplants to Texas. Thus I had no idea what it meant when I heard about Homecoming mums. In my naivete, I really thought they were something given to the mothers of football players.
But I was mistaken. Lucky for our daughter, she has other friends who are more knowledgeable. Her Tae Kwon Do teacher, for example, who was kind of enough to teach Alison and a friend all about making their Homecoming mums.
But I am jumping ahead. For reasons that, to me, are still unknown, it is a tradition for the students (not just girls) to make giant mum/corsage/breastplates to wear to school and to the football game on game day. They are bedecked and beribboned, all in their school colors. One chooses appropriate items with which to accessorize - in Alison's case, a small wildcat and ribbons of paw prints - that complement the school mascot. The mums themselves are fake; this way the girls can keep them on display in their bedroom for the rest of their high school years.
Some girls use two mums, some girls three. The boys wear them on a garter on their arm. Seniors decorate their mums with white and silver.
But you don't wear them to the dance. And you make a new mum every year.
Learning ... we are learning. Alison has had fun with the mum experience; hers is proudly displayed in her bedroom. Tonight she is off to the Homecoming Dance with some friends; her date (a friend from Tae Kwon Do) called her this afternoon, sick with a fever. But she joined some friends for dinner and plans to have a good time anyway. She looks beautiful in her formal, but what mother wouldn't say that?
My favorite part of this story? Cy Woods is a brand-new high school; they have not yet had a graduating class. So why have a Homecoming?
Not that it matters. A thousand 14-17-year-olds will enjoy this evening, dancing, partying, being with their friends. It's what high school is all about.
1 comment:
Alison looks lovely in her dress! I also like the mum she made. Ah, memories.
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