The Invitation

Teach at a high school dance

You all know we’ve had an extremely busy weekend! So Monday was kind of a down day. We took all the kids to Mt. Mikes for pizza. I tried to unbury and I canned up three boxes of pears. It was way past bedtime when the Dog Walker wandered back in and casually mentioned that Saturday is the big Homecoming Dance and he’d like to go. As you can imagine, this is a “date” dance with flowers and fancy dresses and a nice dinner. Five days is barely enough time for planning, let alone executing…but I try to be a supportive mom, so we discussed for a while who he might invite. A sweet girl from the neighborhood came to mind.

Now I’m not generally a meddling mama, but I didn’t want him to be disappointed, so I called her mom on the phone. Unfortunately, said girl answered. Undeterred, I picked up the phone again and rang up another friend who might be a good source of information. She called me back a couple of hours later with the green light. No, this girl didn't have a date, and yes, she wanted one.

It was time to get creative. In Utah, it is customary to ask the intended date in an unusual way. My best thoughts always involve food of some sort. When Teach was in high school, she took an entire homemade layer cake like we have for birthdays with her name stuck between the layers. With the Dog Walker, I wasn’t sure an entire cake was appropriate. Maybe his girl was on a diet or being silly about her weight. With guys it’s much easier, they never seem to care about stuff like that when they are in high school.


I definitely knew I didn’t want him to do some of the things we had seen over the years. Bossy had a boyfriend who was extremely creative, but unconcerned about making messes and gross-outs. One year he floated a dozen plastics ducks in the toilet, each one with a letter of his name. Another time he shredded three large garbage bags full of newspaper and dumped them all over her bedroom. We still found bits and pieces when she moved out and married her hubby several years later!


My BFF’s son asked his girl by buying a bag full of ball-pit balls, you know, like at McDonalds, and presented them to her with the saying, “I finally got the balls to ask you to the Homecoming Dance.” My friend was completely appalled that he would use such a crass idea. But apparently it worked, because the girl said “Yes.”

The Dog Walker and I bounced around a few ideas, and then I remembered the leftover pears. I had a couple of dozen that were too green to can yesterday, so I kept them back for the kids to eat. They seemed like a perfect idea. We found a cute little Tupperware bowl, lined it with tissue paper, and filled it with pears. The invitation read, “Will you go to the Homecoming Dance with me? We would make a great pair!”

I'm so excited...and I just can't hide it...

I had Teach take it to her door. She accepted the gift with a huge grin on her face. Perhaps she already knew? Several hours later, a gift arrived on our own porch. A piece of paper sat under a box of rainbow sherbet ice cream. It read, “If I were Ernie and you were Bert, I’d say Sure-Bert!” So the date is set! Now we need a plan. At least we don't have to worry about a dress. Tell me the best way you were ever invited to a dance…silly? crazy? messy? or was it something about balls…don’t worry, I won’t tell my friend.