Well, I must say...Texas is just full of surprises. I mean...it's been a real adventure and quite a learning curve. They just DO things differently here in Texas. Take for instance, homecoming. Where I went to high school, homecoming was just another fun dance. I mean...it was pretty special if you were on the homecoming court for sure...but for the rest of the world, it was just another fun dance, a chance to wear a pretty dress and have a corsage. People were hyped up about the football game, of course, but we always knew we'd win on homecoming night. But in Texas...homecoming is HUGE! This I am learning hour by hour. Yesterday, Max announced that he had asked a certain young lady from his swim team to Homecoming. My initial thought was..."oh, how sweet." My most recent thoughts have been more along the lines of "Oh shit...what have you done?!". Why you ask? Well...because I now live in Texas. That's why. And Texas has it's own little traditions. One of them being...homecoming mums. Homecoming mums you ask? No...I am not talking about pots of yellow and purple and orange fall mums at Home Depot. I am talking about the Texas tradition of Homecoming Mums....namely...THESE...
THESE are the sacred Homecoming mums. And apparently, Max is to give one to this young lady because he asked her to Homecoming. They consist of anywhere between one and three mums...sometimes real, sometimes silk. There are various ribbons, and ribbon braids and teddy bears, bells, whistles, trinkets and treasures on these things. His and her names go on the ribbons and as I understand it...if there is a stuffed animal...then that's just golden. If your stuffed animal is wearing a team sports uniform...well then....double score! It's a LOT of ribbon and trinket and...well, stuff. And the pricetag...well, just like everything else in Texas...it's just bigger. They appear to start in the neighborhood of $50. And can go right on up to $449!!!!! Are these people for REAL???!!! Oh yes...I assure you that they are! If you don't believe me...just google "homecoming mums" on the internet and research it a little yourself. They are written up in the newspapers and there are ads everywhere. The price lists can be staggering. And what is going through my mind, you ask? Well, for one, I'm thinking...But what if we don't keep her? What if she just isn't Roberts material? It's only his first date with her! That's a huge cash outlay to woo a gal who may or may not be around next week. Not to mention that said asker, AKA Max is NOT gainfully employed and has NO income with which to purchase said token of wooing. Then the female side of me says that 'Maybe, just maybe, being asked to this dance is a dream come true for this little gal and regardless of the outcome, the memory of this night and this mum will last forever for her." I really just do not know what to think of all of this. I'm still trying to take it all in. What I do know is this...I have one week to come up with a Texas homecoming mum. And so as not to shame the Roberts family and my boy...it had better be a doozy! Wish me luck!
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