Entry #17

Entry #17

Wednesday, October 26

Life has a way of imitating art, especially when it comes to the show Friday Night Lights and Texas football. We just finished watching an episode where the two Dillon, Texas teams are about to compete against each other and things get nasty. The Lions put thousands of toothpicks on the Panthers’ turf so they miss a practice, then the (much wealthier) Panthers retaliate by completely demolishing the Lions’ field.

While The Woodlands High School and College Preparatory School aren’t as dramatic as the FNL teams, I did hear from a woman I met here that the game between these rival schools is THE big deal of the season. All the tickets are sold out well in advance, and the atmosphere is definitely intense. Her son is in the marching band, and he’s always busy practicing, performing or competing. The WHS band is composed of something like 350 kids.

12:00 p.m. I just received an online invitation to attend the “Ivory Moon Annual Halloween Potluck” with the title, “Ivory Mooners.” This brings to mind the act of “mooning,” which I imagine was not their intent.

The plan is to meet at the cul-de-sac at 5:00p for the bewitching hour to begin!

Bring a dish to share, witches brew of your choosing, a cauldron of candy and chair to set your bum in!

Join us to eat, drink & be scary!!

Let us know that you'll be there!

We’re supposed to let the host know what we’re bringing. The suggestions include “buffalo chicken dip” and “pigs in a blanket.” Maybe I'll bring Orange Jell-O with gummy worms or eyeballs or something. Jell-O is definitely big around here. In fact, half an aisle at the grocery store is dedicated to Jell-O products of every conceivable variety, though I don’t think Jell-O 1-2-3 is around anymore. I used to love Jell-O 1-2-3 because it separated into three different layers, which I thought was extremely cool.

We’re expected to bring some sort of beverage, too, preferably of the alcohol variety. So while the kids get hopped-up on sugar, the adults get loopy on spiked cider and pumpkin-tinis. We live right on the cul-de-sac, so there’s no escaping this event. Maybe a nice, strong drink isn’t such a bad idea.

Thursday, October 27

Gallows humor seemed to enter the foray as we passed the dead armadillo for the millionth time. I’m now absolutely sure this roadside casualty is never going to be removed, so I decided to at least give it some dignity by naming it Huey.

To add some levity to Huey’s unfortunate situation, I asked Aidan, “What would you say would be a good answer to, ‘Why did the armadillo cross the road in The Woodlands?’” He thought about this a minute and said, “Because he had no life.” Sadly, Noah and I both found this funny.

The real reason for Huey's demise? Armadillos are nearly blind and can't see the street from the woods (or rather, "the wood for the trees," as the saying goes).

10:00 a.m. While waiting in line at the grocery store today, I noticed a old man staring at my backside. I looked to see if I'd sat on something and then realized he was looking at my clogs. Then he lifted up his pantleg to show me his black slip-ons and said, “Seems we have the same style shoes.” This is the closest I’ve come to seeing someone wearing clogs around here, and it happened to be an 80-year-old man. 

6:45 p.m. The shoes (or lack thereof) theme continues...After giving Noah dinner and cleaning up the kitchen, I ran out the door to pick up Aidan from Hebrew school, not bothering to put on shoes because I figured I’d just drive there and back. The “car line” proved to be absurdly long, and I didn’t feel like waiting, so I parked my car in the empty lot and walked out with Izzie. Luckily it was getting dark, but the contrast between my casual attire and lack of shoes really stood out against the other moms picking up their kids, most of whom were wearing high heels and slacks or skirts. I was surprised at how self-conscious I felt, like a hippie chick stepping into a corporate shindig.

Friday, October 28

Today, for the first time since I arrived here, I actually needed to wear a fleece jacket outside. It rained last night, and the day was gray—just the way my kids like it. Guess it reminds them of home.

Izzie seems to prefer this weather, too. She bounded non-stop on our hike this morning. I figured she’d turn into a mud beast if I took her anywhere near the lake, so I decided to go on a mystery trail (unmarked). Luckily we didn’t pass anything more murky than a few mud puddles. Still no wildlife to be seen, except for the skinny gray squirrels that inhabit this area.

Tonight we’re supposed to go to the “12^th Annual Harvest Hayride” for the kids’ school. Yeehaw! Tonight’s event will also include a hot dog cookout, s’mores and, guitar-accompanied singing. Noah said his classmates plan to bring their AirSoft guns, too. My kids are less-than-thrilled about going, but since we have yet to meet the parent community at the kids’ school, I thought it would be a good idea. We shall see...

8:00 p.m. Art imitated life once again with the latest episode of Friday Night Lights. I’d just spoken to Noah about his need to eat more protein, which is challenging because he doesn’t eat meat.

In season five of Friday Night Lights, a stereotypically Texan character named Buddy Garrity is talking to his son, Buddy Jr., who’d just moved back from living with his mom and stepdad in Northern California. His son says he'll eat anything as long as he doesn't have to touch another piece of seitan.

“Satan? What’s seitan?”

“Kevin calls it, like, ‘nature’s meat’ or something.”

“Son, nature already has meat. It’s called ‘cow.’”