higher education

When my daughter was a freshman at Clemson, she called to say, “Mom, guess where I’m going this weekend.” Even though I trusted my daughter, I was a little hesitant to ask. But she said the words most parents dread: “Toga Party.” My eyes closed, and I couldn’t help from busting out laughing. Flash backs of the movie Animal House came to mind. John Belushi, Tim Matheson and Karen Allen. I wanted to shout, “No, don’t go ...they will corrupt you!” But being the levelheaded and realistic mom that I try to be, and trusting my daughter, I knew that it was time I passed on to her a skill that would come in handy at college. It was time I taught her how to tie a toga.

Rachel said that she and her friend Dorsey wanted to come home for me to show them how to wrap and tie a toga. “Sure,” I said. “Come on home. We’ll get some material and I’ll show you how.” Rachel told me that they had already bought material. The lady in the sewing department was really helpful. They picked out some pretty white satin and bought it. “How much did you get?” I asked. “5 yards” Rachel said. “Is that for both of you?” I asked. “No, that’s for me. Dorsey only got 4 and a half yards since she is shorter.” I was laughing so hard my sides hurt.

I went through my craft box and found some beautiful gold ribbon and a string of rhinestones that would be perfect. Once the girls got home, we folded and refolded the material to get the right length. Then we twisted it for the front tie. Rachel spun in a circle to use up all the material, and we had enough left for a final twist. This made a perfect spot to tie the toga. I think my daughter was impressed that I knew how to do something cool and fun. We got Dorsey’s toga wrapped, and I taught them to wrap and tie each other. Finally Sunday night I called to ask how everything went at the toga party. “Oh Mom, it was great. Our togas were perfect. They never came loose.” If she only knew how perfect it was for a mom to hear those words!

Author Sharon Durgin will be at the Authors for Literacy book signing Saturday, Dec. 7 at 11 am at the Lexington Main Library.