One of the best aspects of this unexpected U.S. time has been the opportunity for Nia to have some quintessential American experiences. In fact, the last few weeks of been full of them! Please allow me to share . . . :)
When new friends invited us to come see their daughter perform at the Bend High Homecoming half-time show, I jumped at the chance to expose Nia to this unique ritual that takes place at high schools across America. She was fascinated by all of it–the football players rocketing out of the giant football helmet as they entered the field, the cheerleaders with their identical hairbows bobbing in sync, and the students chanting and stomping in their designated section, which just so happened to be adjacent to ours.
What surprised me most–other than learning that my husband had never attended a high school football game either–was how familiar it all felt. Given that change is the one constant in our lives now; I’ve come to treasure the few people, places, and experiences that stay the same over time. And quite honestly, this could have been MY high school homecoming game in the mid-90’s. Tell me this doesn’t sound familiar . . . the crackly speaker with someone’s Dad doing the play-by-play, an absurd number of players and coaches standing on the sidelines, bright lights illuminating the dark sky, the smell of popcorn and sugar mingling together, and old, familiar cheers that you know by heart.
However, because it was Homecoming, we got an additional special experience at halftime. We got to see our friend’s daughter perform her dance routine, which was awesome, but then we also got to see the Homecoming royalty pass by atop hay wagons! And you’ll never guess who was crowned Homecoming King and Queen . . . the cheerleader and football player, of course! Some things really never do change. :) But this coronation had a little small town flare because none other than the Mayor did the crowning!
Then, just a few days later, Nia got to experience the first ‘real’ Halloween that she can remember. When we’re overseas, Halloween is usually done either as trunk-or-treating or throughout the Embassy offices. And though we were in the States for three Halloweens, she doesn’t remember the ones before age five and her 5th grade Halloween got thwarted by rain and sickness. So somehow she made it to 13 without feeling like she had a legit Halloween trick-or-treating experience under her belt, and boy was she determined to remedy that this year!
If you read my last post then you won’t be surprised to learn that she chose Amelia Earhart, the first female pilot to fly solo across the Atlantic ocean, as the person she wanted to dress up as for Halloween. She was keen to trick-or-treat with her new group of school friends, so I helped get it organized with the other Moms. The weather was atrocious, but no matter, they were oh-so-committed and spent two hours going from house to house in the chilly drizzle. The parents jointly decided to emancipate the kiddos this year (translation: no parent chaperone), and they came back with eyes shining, high on the joy of friends, newfound independence, and sugar rushes. It made my Mama heart happy to see her finding her place and making memories with other wonderful kids. Pretty impressive after only two months of being here!
Our final “Americana” experience took place yesterday at school. Each year, Nia’s school hosts a Veteran’s Day reception to honor all the parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles who have served in the military. Nick and I attended with Nick’s Dad, who was in the Army in the early 70’s. The day began with a reception for the Veterans, and then transitioned into a school-wide presentation/ceremony. It was very well executed and included the Girl Scouts leading the Pledge of Allegiance and carrying out the flag, the Boy Scouts setting up a “Missing Man Table” and explaining the significance of each item, and the middle school band playing Taps.
It managed to be both professional and interesting enough to keep the kids engaged. Besides the elements already mentioned, we also watched a slide show of photos showing everyone’s relatives who had served, and listened to an awesome presentation by a Dad who flew fighter jets off of naval aircraft carriers. Nia hasn’t seen many displays of patriotism, so this proved to be another unique experience for her. And of course she came out of it fired up about flying (and just completed her second flight today). Three cheers for America and all its wonderful traditions that I take for granted. We are blessed to live in such a great country.
