Friday, October 2, 2009

Mums the Word or Too Too Texas

This needs explanation. Just got back from making a Homecoming mum with my adopted niece.

Okay, for anyone who's not from around here, mums are so freaking Texas. I don't know anywhere else that they do these things. Certainly not at my high school. Basically you take a silk mum and jazz it up with all these ribbons and doodads to show spirit for Homecoming. You can buy it or make it yourself. It can be a couples thing, or parents can buy them for their kids. Girls wear theirs on a ribbon around their necks, and guys to a garter on their arms. A small friendship mum is about $45. And they can run over $100 depending on how much flair you add to it: special ribbons, feather boas, teddy bears, bells and whistles (literally) and all sorts of little charms and tokens. I saw some examples at the store that had 3 flowers and were the size of a dinner plate. As C says, "tasteful has nothing to do with it."

C's mom is really not a joiner type. And even if they'd had these things in my high school, I wouldn't have been the type to go in for it. But she really enjoys the whole high school thing, and actually participates in the events (what a concept). And I kind of decided that if she didn't have one, it would be like nobody loved her. I mean. it's a big, big deal here. So when I found out that I just had enough time to get in on the action, I ran out and bought some supplies and we spent a couple of hours putting one together.
Thank TPTB that I talked to one of the moms at the craft store and found out that since she's a senior, there was a tradition to be followed. Underclassmen wear school colors. But since she's a senior, she's earned the right to wear an all white and silver mum. Could have been a major faux pas. I was told that there could be a tiny trace of her school colors, so we used a tiny stuffed animal horse head in the middle of the silk mum, and put tiny red and blue ribbons at its ears. [Did I mention that taste is NOT an issue here?] And we added some tiny jingle bells so that she could make some noise.
We had fun putting it together. And I think she'll enjoy wearing it tomorrow. Like I told her, it may not be the biggest or the prettiest, but we definitely got out there and participated. That's the nice thing about having nieces and nephews. It's never too late to enjoy high school.

10 comments:

glorm said...

Oh my goodness. When I first read this, I was picturing something about six inches long. These things are huge--no wonder some cost $100. You did a very nice job.
Materials: XXX
Time involved: XXXX
Time spent with niece: priceless

FirePhrase said...

Thank you, thank you.

Believe it or not, this is a fairly small and simple example. We made it out for around $40, since we did a lot of the basic work ourselves.

I try not to get too weepy that she's growing up, and we won't have many more opportunities to do stuff like this. Our little girl . . . sniff, sniff.

WashingtonGardener said...

Love the horses' ear ribbons. So cute. Mildly frightened thi stradition may spread outside TX though!

FirePhrase said...

Those ribbons took two pairs of hands and a pair of chopsticks. And I was right proud of them.

I wouldn't worry too much. People from Oklahoma say this hasn't even migrated up there yet. This may stay a strange little TX tradition.

momo said...

You did an excellent job! I have found the whole Texas high school experience to be so ridiculous here, crazy traditions and expectations. No wonder the drop out rate is so high! Sometimes I'm kinda glad I grew up in po dunk Iowa.

FirePhrase said...

It is incredibly ritualized, isn't it? But that's kinda Texas. We'll turn anything into a tradition. Even corny dogs.

WashingtonGardener said...

Spaeking of corny dogs did you hear Fabip from Top Chef is getting his OWN show on Bravo -- okay he is not that corny nor really that much of a dog - but had to work that into the conversation somewhere or I'd burst

FirePhrase said...

Fabio? Hm. Interesting. He wouldn't have been my first choice as breakout star. Wonder how that went down. He's a character, but he's no Duff either.

victory4angela said...

Only in Texas! They have to have the BIGGEST, most out there tradition! I love it!! I would love to see some prissy girls from Potomac wearing a giant silk mum with a horse head on it. I think it would make more people down-to-earth. You can't be too stuck up if you have a giant silk flower hanging off you. :)

FirePhrase said...

C brought home pictures from Spirit Day, and hers was actually small compared to most of the others! But what we lost in grandeur, we made up in originality. The horse heads were evidently new, and none of her friends had one. Score one for Auntie Julie.

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