Picture It

Picture it. Yesterday. The girls department at Walmart. A mother and her son are rummaging through the discount racks of summer clothing looking for purple shorty-shorts and a plain, purple stretchy t-shirt. The son is sixteen, and on the dance squad for the Powder Puff football game on Saturday. The purple shorts and t-shirt is the costume they are required to wear.

The boy has been practicing for two weeks, every day after his own football practice to learn the dance moves that the squad will perform during half time of the girls' Powder Puff game. He can be seen at any given time, practicing his booty shaking and split jumps at home.

The mother, proud and somewhat embarrassed at the same time, watches as he practices his moves. She laughs and shakes her head.

While the son runs from rack to rack searching for the right outfit, people in Walmart watch and wonder what the two are up to. Who are they shopping for? Why is the son so excited by what he finds? Why is he holding the girls' clothing up to himself, as if checking for size? It's a comical scene, and the two are having a blast.

In the dressing room, the boy tries on his choices, looking for the shortest shorts and the tightest shirt. The mother sits outside the dressing room waiting to see each outfit so she can laugh at the absurdity of it all. The fitting room attendant watches, not sure whether she should laugh at this muscular sixteen year old boy in small girls clothing. She looks a bit concerned, and tries to mind her own business. It's hard for her to concentrate on her work.

The son makes his choice of outfit, and leaves the rest for the fitting room attendant to put away. The mother wonders if her son had actually stretched out the clothing he tried on and rejected. The two leave the fitting room and the attendant. The attendant goes to work, folding and hanging the purple rejections as the mother and son leave, laughing. She's never seen a boy try on girls clothing, and wonders.

The mother and boy in this story is me and Tristan.

The high school is putting on a Powder Puff game this coming Saturday. The Juniors against the Seniors. The girls will play flag football, and the guys will perform the half time show. It's something the school does every year, and it's a great time!

The Juniors have named themselves the Junior Jokers. The guys are dressing up in purple outfits with green ties and painting their faces to look like the Joker from Batman. I'll be sure to take pictures and video this Saturday and post it!