Some things are hard to part with. However, when it takes up space and no longer serves a purpose, it has got to go. So as the winter weather keeps me inside and I cast an eye on the next victim item that must be cast away, donated or burned (there’s a perfectly good fire in the fireplace that can help), I have a solution for now anyway. Snap a photo and capture it digitally.
I can imagine how this may sit with those who capture photos for art’s sake. My thought of capturing old stuff may just smack of junk photography. But consider the treasures I would photograph.
As the girls brought home school art from elementary school, I framed their pieces in an acrylic frame and hung them in the laundry room.
My smart husband suggested to me what to do with them. “Take a picture and then maybe, it’s time to let go of them.” ..as in … sniff … sniff … throw them away.
Also, there are those homecoming mums! Homecoming mums* (See explanation below. Hint: Texas-sized corsages) were not to be thrown away, but were hung on hangers after the big game and dance year after year in the recesses of their closets. The blooms–real or fake–were and still are bedecked with long 2 inch wide ribbons in their team’s colors that reached their knees or ankles. Miniature cowbells, football charms and custom you-name-it charms are attached to said beautiful ribbons and blooms. Glitter is generously spray-glued all over leaving a telltale trail to the one who wears it.
A mum measures about a yard to four feet long and covers the whole front of the young ladies wearing one, two or even three! Yes, they walk a little lopsided and those cowbells ring through the halls, during class and maybe in the cafeteria at lunchtime they can reach their food as they eat. I’m not sure how they go to the bathroom, but they manage. Yes, those are Texas-sized corsages. Some are pinned and others…well, just hang around the neck.
Okay, now that they are “preserved” digitally…what to do with them? So as I play with the thought of what this Mom will do with the mums, it occurs to me that perhaps today’s Superbowl can have a say in the matter.
1. If the Seahawks win, Donate to a local charity where they can be recycled during football season.
2. If the Broncos win, Find a home-based business that can use the supplies and recycle.
Either way it’s a win-win…but alas, disposing of “mums” if my girls get wind of this, may not be a win-win for Mom. After all, the Super Bowl is serious business as is keeping “mums” until time immemorial.
And, then there were those prom and homecoming dresses. All have been donated now, but one has sat in our home closet with orders of “Do not get rid of it!” Shhhh…guess what? It’s gone. Donated. Take a picture? Nah…as I thought about it, we already had pictures of the pre-big-dance. I’d rather view her in the dress than see it on a hanger.
[Explanation: In Texas, girls receive giant chrysanthemum corsages from girlfriends and boyfriends alike that they wear to THE game. In recent years, the real chrysanthemum bloom has been replaced by a silk one, making the mum more permanent and un-throw-away-able.]
There’s a third option — let the girls have them to keep or donate… Then you are not the bad Mum …
That’s the bite…somehow I have become the “keeper of (fill in the blank)” and when I bring up, “Why don’t you take this/these home with you?” “Awww…next time, Mom, when we’re back.” I guess I’m a sucker for the next “next time.” It’s a conundrum.
Thanks for capturing the Texas Homecoming Mums! I have tried to describe them to colleagues here in Virginia, but a picture will be worth any sketch I have provided.
It is certainly a TX “thang.” Here they are on wp, saved digitally. Wondering…and do the boys or the mothers of boys save their garters?
I have never heard of the “mum” thing! Maybe you and the girls could have a vintage game party and use them to decorate.
And just when I think they may go away, there’s a reason to save them. My girls would love the idea. “Mom, you can put the mum box right next to the scarecrow box, Christmas decorations, 4th of July wreaths and Easter baskets!” 🙂
Oh the mums…just glanced at one yesterday in my closet…and thinking it would someday have to go. ~sigh~
Sigh, is right. And Dor just gave me another reason to save them. So you’re from/live in TX?
Yes, born and raised in West Texas…temporarily residing in the Metroplex.
You still have your mum? Wow!
I love the allure of driving west…it’s a long drive, but once I get to El Paso, I just want to keep going to NM, AZ and CA.
Love all of those places and driving all over them too!
it took me a while to understand this ‘mum’ custom down here. still is freaky to me. 🙂 anyway, if your girls want to save something, i say they have to take it from your house. 🙂
Perhaps you’re right. I could just box them up and show up at their house with them.
My mom had that problem with stuff because he had an attic. Everyone kept their “stuff” there. Then she died. What a freaking mess that was trying to figure out what belonged to whom after all those years. I say throw them out unless someone wants to cart them off. (Yes, I know. I’m in the sentimental minority!)
Oh gosh, this sentimental journey is
for the birdsa song. If more stuff doesn’t go soon, we’ll be adding a second floor to our country single story ranch house.Those are wild! The only dance I took part in was my sorority’s winter dance during the brief spell I was in a sorority. All I have to commemorate that is a picture . . . oh, and a little eye make-up I bought with my mom for the event. I tried to throw that away, but shortly after tossing it into the bag, rummaged it right back up. It’s just a thing, I know, but it’s a thing my mom and I both touched, and it’s like my own miniature time machine. 🙂
I love how you get the connection. Things have a voice and life of their own.
In my kitchen, my father 25 years ago helped me hang some decorative speculaas boards for making Dutch cookies which he adored with his tea. He died 22 days later. It was the last thing we did together and they have only come down off that wall once to take down some very outdated wallpaper and paint the kitchen a fresh and updated color.
***Hi Deb – This is Christy, Georgette’s daughter. I hope you and your son are doing well. It was so nice meeting you Mother’s Day weekend. You’re in our prayers! I hope we see each other again soon. Congratulations on your exciting news!! 🙂
I’ve never seen these homecoming mums. Of course I’ve seen signs at florists, but I was assuming they meant normal sized corsages. When I was growing up in Iowa there wasn’t such a thing, even for the homecoming dance. And in the 80s, when I was around high-schoolers in the Victoria/Corpus area, I don’t remember ever hearing or seeing such extravagant – decorations. Looks to me like another plot from the florists’ associations.
I had to lay down the law with my own mom after she moved down here. My closet was full of her yarn and general piles of “just stuff” and memorabilia. Finally, I rented a storage unit, which got it out of my place. After a while, I told her she had to keep what she wanted in her own place because I wasn’t about to pay more rent. We worked it out – but there was a lot of “getting rid of” involved.
I did help her store her yarn, though. 😉
You must google them at google images. I guess my photos will now be added to the google image archive of mums. 🙂 Believe it or not, even wikipedia has a piece on homecoming…which originated at Baylor, a fact that doesn’t surprise me a bit.
Oh, the yarn. I have a basketful of it because I want to be sure I have the colors needed for the next cross stitch project…but I limit it to one basket.
In my twenties I took several art classes and learned I could render a pretty good drawing or painting…but all the stuff kind of overwhelmed me…then, unfortunately I just stopped cold. People who do crafts or art, have to have a room or studio. I still remember my friend who just gave away her beautiful appliqué of churches to me because she just didn’t have room for all she produced.
Mom had twenty-seven large rubbermaid totes filled with her yarn. 😉
Yikes!
I’ve never heard of the homecoming mums….I agree with the others. If your daughters want to save them, show up at their homes with the mums in tow!
Oh LOL…isn’t that what blogging friends are for? 🙂 Thank you for the input, Dianna. And, Happy, Happy Anniversary!
Thanks, Georgette! We’re having a sunny, gorgeous day – after all snow, it’s a welcome sight!
Taking pictures of the items is a good way to preserve them and not take up space. I’m going through the same thing right now. Yesterday I threw away my confirmation dress. I realized there was no good reason to keep it and there are pictures of me wearing it all those years ago..
🙂 My wedding dress stays, as does D2’s in HER closet, not mine.
My daughter has my wedding dress. (I’m no longer married to her father so I thought it best she have it) I had her wedding dress here for a while but last year she asked to have it back, dyed it blue and wore it as an Alice in Wonderland costume. (she’s no longer married so thought it was a good use for a dress she liked) So I no longer have either dress!
Delightful use of her dress, Alice in Wonderland!
There’s something about the winter months that make us want to clear the clutter. What a great idea to take a photo, Georgette. I’ve never thought of doing that. I love purging!
Winter, 2014. Purge. Could that be our word this winter? (wink)
Definitely!
Wow, you guys really DO make everything huge In Texas! 😉 Good ideas to recycle or repurpose as everyone calls it now days. Your post reminded me oh too well of all the dance and bridesmaids bouquets that have been taking up space in our basement not to mention a full boutique’s worth of prom and dance dresses hanging in the girls’ old bedroom closets. You’ve reminded me it’s time to find a good new home for them.
And if you think the girls will think twice about it, next visit out, arrive with hangers and said dresses in hand. That’s what today’s readers say, anyway. 🙂
Yep, that sounds like a great idea! 😉
Those are amazing mums! I’ve found a few things to part with, and instead of getting rid of them myself, I took them to my daughter’s house. 😉 The ball is in her court now–to keep or to toss. At least, she doesn’t inherit it all when we’re gone and have to deal with it then.
I think many have weighed in to just put it in a box and pass it on to them. I don’t think this Parenting thing ever stops even if I put it in a box.
I’m just the opposite in that I throw everything away after a time. I guess I am not very sentimental but like to think I’m not attached to things that no longer have a use. Those mums are a trip though.
Oh, we have all those mums packed in their “high school memorabilia” boxes … wonder when the girls will go through & ‘decide’ their fate?!?! Great blog, Georgette – brought back MANY memories … don’t forget, the boys had garters too!! 🙂
The boys did have garters. I had another idea. Call the school in the fall and ask for the name of a student whose name we could put on them and donate them that way. Since the mums have been on hangers, they are in perfect shape, haven’t even discolored.
Oh Georgette, it is so hard to part with treasured keepsakes! But I applaud you for going through with it. And I think your picture idea is genius (perhaps because I do that too). 🙂 It’s a great way to relive and review the fun times, while moving on, as they say. I’m fortunate to have found a good home for almost all my baby items, now that my own kids are a little older. It was hard to part with things my own children used and loved, but seeing them go to my friends’ kids, or having my kids help sort things of their own out for donation was so touching. Best of luck as you clear those closets — it’s hard, but it’s also so freeing! And I bet a welcome openness as spring nears.
Being a reporter, I can understand how it also, occurred to you to snap pictures. (wink) It is nice to move through our house and find the closets emptier, the walls and table tops pruned of pictures, and the decorations thinned out. But now on to the big stuff. We are moving from a two story to a one story ranch house. Which pieces of furniture have to go? It’s a catch 22 right now, because we don’t want to show empty rooms, but some serious clearing out has to occur from the time we get a contract and the time we move!
A fascinating piece of Texas tradition, of which I knew nothing about. Thanks, Georgette, for sharing this glimpse into life in your state. It’s true, I guess. Everything’s bigger in Texas!
Monica, these mums are beautiful and big, but they certainly aren’t dainty. Thank you for reading about this.
Oh thank you ever so much for the amazon blurb . As Catwoman would say” “Just Purrrfect”.
Thank you for all the smiles, Carl.
Oh, I was worried that the fate of the “mums” was about “moms”…. but, thankfully only about what Mom might do with the mums! I’ve never heard of mums!
It was rather fun to play on those words. Yes, Mum corsages are rather the thing here, especially on the high school level.
I noticed you used the picture of my daughter and her friends for the close up of the white corsages. Will you please link it back to my blog. Here is the link to my blog http://thestylesisters.blogspot.com/2008/10/texas-homecoming-mums.html
Thank you so much.
Karin
Thank you for the link! Done.