Alumnification Complete

Ten years out of college, we are not just the kind of people who take their kid's picture at the Nittany Lion statue; we are the kind of people who make it an annual tradition.

This year around campus, Ben loved seeing the Nittany Lion pawprints because he thought they were clues from Blue's Clues. Indulgent mother that I am, I bought him a Penn State pawprint sweatshirt, stickers, and a static cling window decal. Now he says he wants to go to Penn State, although I suspect that might change if he knew that college doesn't entail going around collecting clues.

With my friend Karen, I went to not one but THREE alumni clothing stores. We mocked the slogans: Should a child's shirt really say "I bleed blue and white"? Couldn't they remember to put an apostrophe in "Lets go State"? Do everyone realize that "alumni" is masculine plural? Nonetheless, we bought several items. I complained loudly that everything had changed. Creamery ice cream cones are now $2.50! The student union building has a giant TV and looks like an airport! In my day, things were better. And then I couldn't tell if I was being ironic or not.