Goûter On The Lawn

Yesterday, I got an invitation from my high school “to celebrate Sister Caire’s 90th Birthday at a special ice cream goûter on the White House Lawn.” I left it on the table and later Paul picked it up. Paul’s reactions to my Duchesne stories always remind me of how insane my high school experience was.

I went to an all girls Catholic school from middle to high school. You could start there in pre-k, and those girls were known as the lifers. My mother first tried to get me in for kindergarten, but I must not have been good with the scissors or something, because I apparently needed to repeat pre-k. She declared that I was too tall to be held back and sent me to the local public elementary school instead.

As quirky as it was, I can honestly say I have some of the best memories from that place. I definitely feel more of a loyalty to Duchesne than my college. (They sort of brainwash you...) But I really do love that my experience was unique. When Paul read the invite, he was dumbfounded. There were so many questions that needed explanations. And my answers sounded more ridiculous than his questions.

The White House

Well, Paul, goûter translates “to taste” in French, but it means “snack time” in Franglish. Duchesne was founded by French nuns, so sometimes school activities were nicknamed after French words (but pronounced with Texas accents). I just discovered that there is actually a glossary of terms & traditions on the school’s website. Reading it made me giggle with nostalgia. Since it was a school of only girls that was run by mostly women, we found reasons to celebrate snack time a lot. Pretty much every Saint’s feast day was a reason for goûter.

Check out the form on that curtsy. Skills.

And yes, we still have nuns that run the school. And the nuns all live in a house (that’s painted white) in the center of campus, and the lawn in front is where many of the school functions are hosted. Including graduation, where we wear white gowns and little doily crowns on our heads. We practiced curtsying for weeks in our heels on that lawn in preparation for graduation, so that we could curtsy to the head nun as we received our diploma. So yes, Paul, we do celebrate our nun’s 90th birthday parties with a special ice cream goûter on the white house lawn.