Last weekend was Homecoming weekend for CVCA, and Mer and I partook in the festivities. On Friday was the big Homecoming football game, and as part of that the school always sets up an alumni tent to welcome back alumni. Since Mer is an alum, we got to go. It is not super splashy or anything – hot dogs, soup, and cookies – but it is still a free meal and a chance to catch up with former students, which Mer and I did for about 45 minutes while we ate. I then ran off to do my usual cheer-madly-for-the-band while Mer stayed at the tent.

I followed the band inside the stadium, and for the first time ever at a CVCA game, I went up into the stands, as high up as I could go (second row from the top). You could actually see the football game pretty well, and I still got to sit next to the band. Mer joined me, and a few minutes later, Mer’s friend Marie joined us as well. One of my former Fools made his way over to us, and later still, some of Mer’s former students joined us. It was a pleasant gathering. I was interested in the game and watched it pretty intently, while Mer kept one eye on the game and chatted with the folks around her.

At halftime, the other team’s huge and impressive band did a great show, including spelling “Ohio” in script, which involved many crossing lines of marching students. It was well done. Our portion of halftime was spent announcing the homecoming court. One of my former Fools won queen, which was very cool. She is a nice girl, and I am happy she won. I did not know the boy who won king very well, but everything I hear about him is positive.

After halftime, Mer’s friend wanted to go on a building tour, so Mer joined her. I was feeling hungry, so I walked home and grabbed some of my homemade pizza. I do enjoy living so close to school. I was back in time to see the fourth quarter, and Mer joined me partway through it. We ended up winning the game, something like 30-14 or some such. Our team played well once we settled down. Then, our band came on the field for their “halftime” show which was put off because of Homecoming court. Mer and I stayed and cheered and enjoyed the entire show, and then we walked home.

On Saturday, Mer had a busy day, while I did not. Mer went to CVCA for CVCA’s “spa day.” The school was encouraging the girls of the school to spend less money on Homecoming this year, and to give the money to a family to help the family defray adoption costs – it was called “Bring a Baby Home” and was a nice addition to the Homecoming festivities this year. Anyway, CVCA had a bunch of women volunteer to help the girls do hair and nails for a donation, and so Mer went to the spa at CVCA. She said it was fun – she got pampered a little while getting to chat with good friends and students. She had a good time. I think I may have napped – I don’t remember for sure.

Then, Mer went to a friend’s baby shower. Jen is about to have her first baby, and Mer wanted to support her. When Mer came back, she said about half the people there were CVCA people, even though Jen does not work at CVCA (her husband does, and Jen is an alum). Mer had won a contest at the shower by saying the word “baby” the fewest number of times during the party. Again, she had a good time.

We then got all dressed up – me in my suit and Mer in her new shoes and dress, and we headed down into the Valley to go to Todaro’s Party Center for the Homecoming banquet and dance. The outside of the building was nondescript, but the inside was very nice. We got there at about 5:30 (the dinner started at 6:00), and the place was already humming with activity. We went inside, found our table, and then started mingling with students. I am pretty close to this year’s senior class, so I was happy I could make this Homecoming. I got to chat with several of my students while Mer and I munched on appetizers. Happily, the banquet hall’s idea of appetizers was cookies and brownie bites. That was good.

We spent a fair amount of time chatting, and then we sat back at our table with other CVCA teachers and administrators. We had a fine time talking, and Mer and I compared notes on which dresses we liked the most. Supper was a buffet, and was very fine – the chicken and potatoes were very good. After supper, there were numerous announcements for various teams and clubs to get together for photos. Dessert (cake and more cookies) was served, and then at about 9:00 the line dancing started.

Dancing at a Christian school is a tricky thing, so a few years ago the administration decided that various line dances would be okay at Homecoming. So, you see things like the Macarena, the Chicken Dance, and so on. It does mean that we got to hear the amusing announcement “If there is too much dancing during the dance, we will have to stop.” That made me smile.

Mer went out on the floor with students for two dances, but then we both decided we were pretty tired – it had been a long evening the night before and was a long day Saturday. So, we headed back out to the car and headed home. It had been a good evening, and I was happy to have gotten to see the students all dressed up.