Pretty Pretty Princess - the girlie traditions

Our younger daughter, Pretty Pretty Princess, had a busy summer. Dang, Gina, the girl can manage her hair and her sunglasses with the best of 'em. It makes her mother proud. Also her sister, the Sophisticate, who defines sunglass chic. PPP is now in the throes of her senior year in High School. I like single gender education (I like homeschool too, but this is hard-core school.) That's pretty much all I have to say in the matter - I did the research, it works for me, it works for them. I don't want to hear about all the reasons they need socialization. Trust me, they are adequately socialized.

At PPP's school, the traditions are thick. We can't turn around without considering 'what the seniors do.'It started last spring with the creatively named Spring Fest, at which there is a princess, though not OUR PPPrincess. The '08 Seniors walked out of the chapel at the end. The Juniors 'moved up' into the senior seats. They wore short white dresses. And it was a big huge deal. Yes, indeed, there were tears shed by me.

Then, we had a party. Dressed in their short white dresses, they all lined up to get their traditional picture taken.

We bid farewell to the Lacrosse seniors - with a rose and a water bottle full of candy - suddenly, PPP was among 3 lax seniors. To prepare for her senior year she had a busy summer. She went to the beach with a few close friends, from church. Evidently, they got dressed up and went out to dinner. And lined up to pose for pictures on the beach.

The OFFICIAL senior picture - and all the posing that entailed.

She went on her mission trip to Mexico. All the pictures of the 'mission trip' are of PPP and her few close friends lined up for a picture. And, again, in Mexico posing for a picture with a few friends. Making GANG signs. Seriously? PPP thinks she's making a "gang face" too. Little Bear, cut out the glaring. Oh, look, here she is again. At home, going for a snow cone. And lining up to pose for a picture. I guess one of the traditions of her senior year is lining up and posing for pictures. At least they aren't making gang signs, since that location is pretty close to some actual gang-type activity around the corner or so.A day or two before school started she went to paint her block on the wall. The wall is somewhere in the school. Each senior paints a block on the wall -whatever that's about. Evidently it's "2009 We Mighty Fine" That's what we get I guess at a girls' college preparatory school - we mighty fine. We agonized for weeks over the design of her particular block. At least no faux gang signs.


I just signed permission for her to leave school to eat lunch out. My favorite senior year memories were "out to lunch" especially when we went to the Country Club where my friends blithely signed the ticket with no notion of how that chef salad was paid for. Go with the Country Club girls, PPP. It remains the best Chef Salad in town.

They have a lounge, where only seniors are allowed. They take food to it and eat it. So when I forget to make lunch, it's not a disaster. PPP, baker extraordinaire, likes to contribute to the glut of food in the lounge. Derby Day is a huge tradition. Part of the tradition is that the seniors wear red shorts and red sports bras and roll up their tee shirts, thus baring the abdomen. Baring the tum-tum is a no-no in their little protected world. Not on Facebook though. There are scandalous pics on Facebook.

It is also evidently tradition for some people to paint themselves green. I think I remember green year. It's also a big tradition to line up with your friends and have your picture taken.

Derby Day = Mud Day, evidently

Mud + Giant Blow-Up Slides+ Bare Tummies = Derby Day. "2009 We Mighty Fine. "

Some mothers attend . . . to watch this...whatever it is. I did not attend. Surprised? I cannot imagine myself standing in a field watching PPP get muddy and line up for a photo op. I rely on the photos of others.

It's as if she is watching herself - a senior-in -progress. A tradition filled year, indeed.With all the traditional photo taking, and mud wrestling, and gang signing and snow cones, PPP gets tired. She then crawls in bed with her I-Pod. A lot she does that. Also Facebook. That's a tradition too.

High School Football - the traditions

Our Young Son attends a "college preparatory school for boys," a rarified atmosphere indeed. After homeschool, I believe in single gender education. I like it, they like it, done.

My boy is still pretty lean, and as a sophomore, he gets to play football twice a week. On the TURF and under the lights. At last.

Once on the JV team, and again for the BIG SHOW on Friday night. Monday JV football is a bonus for us, to give our lean young men more "playing time." For me, that means more time in the stands. Isn't that fun for me? Two games a week. YAY! Football games! YAY, again!

This past Friday was the first " varsity home game" and in my disability to write here and do anything else, I am talking about it a week later. In this tradition rich atmosphere, a home game entails lots ....of stuff.The National Anthem is sung by our own a capella singing group. This group of young men makes a tour of the girls' schools in town every year. I cannot think of many schools where you have a group of young men, including some in pads and others in tee shirts, standing in a circle and singing on the track, then dispersing to play football or participate in the general mayhem in the stands. It's amazing.The team, all gazillion of them, leaves the locker room and walks purposefully to the field led by the coach and I guess some important seniors. They move through a fan tunnel. The fan tunnel is really exciting. YAY! Fan tunnel! Or "Owl Walk" take your pick. YAY! Parents and students and other FANS line up, clapping and talking, on either side of the walkway from the locker room to the field. The clapping intensifies and the talking turns to yelling, as the team takes the longest possible route. The fans yell and scream and whistle and the players clomp through. Cleats on concrete - noisy. They are big in those pads and helmets. I had to work really hard to figure out where my guy was. Then I remembered his number. That was a help.

In addition to the yelling and whistling and general noise making, people start smacking them on the helmet or shoulder pad or slapping hands. And sometimes the big padded young men slap back. The fan tunnel fan can get pretty small as people push to see and crowd in, or reach in to give an encouraging punch, so the team has to push their way through. It's ....well, it's tradition. Sort of scary and wild, but another tradition. Twice per game. It's a way for everyone to get 'fired up.' They pray before the game. They bow their heads and put a hand on another's shoulder. From where I sit, in the stands, it sounds like a deep rumbling swarm of something. When longtime Coach Jake died this summer, his sons spoke about praying in the huddle before games. Many of his former players came to the Coach's funeral. They stood and prayed out loud in unison, as if it were another pre-game huddle, as the Coach had led them so many times. That day, I stood silently, listening to the voices of many, many men praying together. I saw them reach out and put a hand on another's shoulder. They honored Coach Jake. That day, the Coach' s grandson and namesake sang. He also sang the National Anthem at the football game last week. Real tradition doesn't desert you with time. They do this thing with the helmets. Not sure what that's about, but they do it alot. And make a big loud boy-noise. Something about "WIN" or "FIGHT" or "TEAM" or "WOMEN" I mean "LADIES" ....one of those, maybe.
There is a lot of cheering and talking on the sidelines. Yes indeed, our Young Son does a lot of chatting on the sidelines on Friday night.
When someone is "down" or presumed injured, or exhausted, they 'take a knee' and they also take the helmets off. I'm not sure what the point of that is, unless it's to be sure that there is no surreptitious coaching or planning or whatever. Also, they are probably tired of standing up and they are hot - so removing the helmet and taking a knee is a nice little break. But I am a mom, so maybe that's not right. And then it's over. Win or lose, they all line up and shake hands. Like men do all over the world. At the end of the day, everyone shakes hands and goes on about their business.

Practice is hard, there's a lot of yelling, and a lot of running, and a lot of time spent. Homework goes late because of those hours. On Thursdays though, there are notes in the lockers from the cheerleaders "Go, #70!" "We're #1!" Also there is food. The seniors eat the good stuff, like the chicken nuggets, but the Young Son got brownies, and was pleased.

The one with the black on his cheek - that's the Coach's grandson and namesake. According to Mimi, who knew him so well, Big Jake had a beautfiul voice too. And there's Little Bear - glaring at the camera. What's up with that, Little Bear?

So...let's see.

• Lots of time in preparation.
• People who care about you encouraging you...also hitting you.
• Walk-in together and follow the leaders.
• Sing the National Anthem.
• Pray together.
• Talk to your friends.
• Be respectful when someone might be hurt.
• Stick with your buddies.
• Shake hands when it's over.

OK. I think it's worth it. I mean, EVERYBODY at school doesn't get brownies and notes from the cheerleaders.