Ole Miss

It should come as no surprise to anyone that I'm raising Jude as an Ole Miss fan. Besides loving the works of William Faulkner-- Oxford's native son-- beyond what is normal and earning my degree there, I met his Daddy at Ole Miss, accepted my marriage proposal in the Circle somewhere between Ventress and Bryant Hall, got married in Paris-Yates Chapel, and began the first few weeks of married life still living in Oxford with my then new husband. For many reasons, Ole Miss will always remain my favorite place on Earth. I may never live there ever again, but I do have hopes that Jude will some day, even if only for those four glorious years (or six if he's anything like his father--Jeffrey never did believe in rushing through his college experience, but then again, he did graduate cum laude).

This past Sunday, our family, with the exception of the Weezy-cat, donned our red and blue in support of the NCAA tournament. I dressed Jude in his Ole Miss fleece jacket, Colonel Reb shirt, Ole Miss pants, and Ole Miss tie up shoes. Yes, some brilliant mind thought up the concept of embroidering the Ole Miss logo on white baby shoes bringing completion to Jude's ensemble. Call me biased, but Jude sports the whole Ole Miss look like no one's business. Red and blue suit him. Unfortunately, his overall dapper appearance served as no kind of good luck charm for our Rebels as they lost to LaSalle in the last two seconds of the game. Oh well. There's always next year.

I really shouldn't care where Jude goes to college so long as he goes. I will love him no matter what he decides, and that goes beyond where he chooses to further his education. Of course a third generation Ole Miss Alum would do me proud, but ultimately, I just want him to be happy. Since he hasn't the capability to make those choices right this second, I will continue to dress him in rebel rags and encourage him to proclaim "Hotty Toddy" at any given moment.

No matter where he goes, I think he will have a place in his heart for Ole Miss because without that fine institution, who knows if Jeffrey and I would have ever met. I argue that Ole Miss is as big a part of Jude's history as it is mine and Jeffrey's. As I said before, I'll support Jude no matter what, although I'll admit it will sting if he chooses to trade red and blue for maroon and white, or worse, purple and gold.