~ Homecoming ~

by Tina~in_ut

I had to laugh at all the first time freshman parents! They were astounded that it was Saturday afternoon and they STILL had no idea what "the plan" was for the Homecoming dance. Who was driving who! Who was going with which group! Where was everyone meeting for dinner? Are they meeting at someones house first for pictures? We told all our kids (senior included) that we wanted to know "the plan" ahead of time, or they weren't going! We knew enough, though, to give them some leeway because so many kids were involved and twice as many parents!

The Freshmen:


The freshman football players were told that they had to ask a girl to the dance or they would be running the next week during practice. So my boy asked Paige. Now, my son has horrible taste in girls. He seems to like the "slutty" ones (according to my daughter!). Paige, as it turns out, is my daughter's friend, and was a delightful girl. I met her at the Homecoming game on Friday night. I asked for her parents phone number so I could call them the next day to make sure we agreed on "the plan." She was a little taken aback and said, "Oh! You want my father's phone number?" I thought that sounded kind of odd and told her that either her mother's or father's phone number would do. She gave me her dad's number. I pulled my daughter aside and asked if there was a mom in the picture. Oh dear Lord! Paige's mother died of cancer when she was in 7th grade. I seem to be really good at opening mouth and inserting foot!!! (i was going to say, "Shut up....." to a certain person or two.....but "Shut up all-a-ya's!!!")

My daughter wasn't going with a date, but luckily for us, she was going with the same group my son was going with. "The plan" was to pick up Paige near school and drive half way back to the restaurant where 40 freshman students were meeting for dinner. Hubby and I were going to eat there as well and then drive the kids back to school for the dance. Three hours later, we'd (I'd) go pick them up, drop Paige off, and come home with the twins. Simple! ......I should have known!

Joe (football player) met at the house at 3:30pm. We drove him and the twins to Paige's house where we met up with a total of 10 kids to take pictures. We had to be at Trio by 5:30pm to meet up with the 30 other kids having dinner. We drove my twins, Paige, Joe, Grace and Eric to the restaurant. We left them there with instructions on when to call us to pick them up. We were on our way to a friend's house for dinner. The kids called us at about 7pm saying they had just gotten the check and to pick them up. I was the lucky one to drive them since the mister was smart enough to start drinking and was in no condition to drive! I took the same 6 kids to the school, but we were too early and I had to drive around for a while so they could be fashionably late (8:05pm!). I drove to the church across the street from the University and told them all to get out of the car and go in and say a prayer! A couple of them thought I was serious and looked so worried. My kids knew better. The church was locked! I dropped them off at 7:55pm. I was hungry and I was lucky enough not to have to pick them up later. Joe's parents were taking care of that, so back to our friend's house I went.


The Seniors:

The seniors were somewhat easier. Pam decided to have 44 of her son's closest friends over for dinner before the dance. Pam's house has what I guess you would call a finished attic. She uses the space for scrapbooking, but that night, 5 tables were set up, china and silverware set out, and a really nice dinner served. She made the yummiest beef I've tasted in a long time. She also served salmon. They had veggies and salad and potatoes. And the desserts! OMG!!!!! All was served by the parents. I didn't know that part when she invited us over for dinner as well!


My son asked Teresa. I had never heard of her. I checked with my daughter (my gauge), and she didn't know anything about her either. Drat! My son was already upstairs when Teresa arrived with her mother. She was being dropped off because she lived an hour away and the mom didn't want my son driving so far. (major points right there!) When she introduced herself (I was standing by the front door letting everyone in), I was so relieved that she wasn't one of the slutty girls I had let in earlier! Her eyes lit up when I told her who I was. She had the prettiest smile and her whole face lit up. Her mom was just as sweet. In fact, we talked for quite some time before we realized that we should be helping! lq~

I was a little bummed that the kids all left while I was carting the freshmen around. Hubby took some group pictures, but he forgot to turn on the flash and they didn't turn out. (the tequila might have had something to do with that!) I'll check with Pam to see if she got any.

All in all, even though it was hectic, it was a fun night for the kids and the parents. The boys had fun with their dates and my daughter was very glad she didn't settle for a boy she didn't want to go with, like some of her friends did.

Oh! I almost forgot. My daughter came home and said that she saw her older brother on the dance floor......grinding.....and said to me, "That's a picture I could have gone the rest of my life without seeing!"