Wednesday, September 26, 2012

We are Definitely in Texas Now

I forgot to mention that last Friday night was Homecoming for Alpine High School. 

I guess one might imagine that I am not much into football. 

However, Maggie is in the flag corp and marches with the band, so I wanted to see her perform.

After the bakery closed, I grabbed a shower, sliced up some amazing veggies one of my customers gave me, made homemade pizza with baby eggplant, squash, tomatoes, peppers, basil, onion.  Put my feet up for a few minutes to rest while waiting for R. to drive in from the park.  Rose and Nora and R and I drove over to the crowded stadium.

Warm breezy air.  Purple and gold everywhere!  The lights on the field contrasted beautifully with the darkening sky and purple mountains on the horizon.  The band played.  Community happened as neighbors visited, cheered, and watched our team trample the visiting players.

I can't say I am any more interested in football than I have ever been.

But there was something pretty sweet about seeing a big part of our town, even the ones without kids, out to encourage the hardworking students.  Frankly I would prefer if we skipped the whole head bashing part and went straight to a two hour long performance of the band.  Which was amazing, and you can tell that they all have worked hard and long on their performance.  I was happy to see how beautifully the flags added to the music. 

Nora said hi to many friends at the game.  Rose ran off and found one of her pals.  Patrick and his guys sat near us.  But not too near.  They all ate lots of unhealthy, very unlocally produced junk from the concession stand.  (I guess my favorite is the nacho bowl with fake yellow stuff and sliced jalapenos.  Mostly I eat the jalapenos which is fine with Nora.)

We drove home, R and I and Nora walked hand in hand around the block, then we decided to sit on the couch to visit for a minute.  Thirty seconds later, R and I were sound asleep.  Til I had to get up and wait for Maggie to come home from the Homecoming dance.  Then sleep fast and take kids to the school to head out for cross country meet.  And then off the the farmer's market. 

Leaving homeschool world has meant leaving a tight-knit community that was very dear to us.  We miss it.  We miss our friends.  Our drama in the barn loft.

But adjusting has helped me see that we are developing a new tight-knit community.  Different.  But sweet and good.  I am so thankful for all the teachers who invest in my childrens' lives.   And for the chance to see the kids thrive in this pretty desert mountain town.
 

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

What a lovely evening in West TX, sounds perfect. Would loved to have been there too.