The Daily Egyptian is published by the students of SIU at Carbondale. Except during vacations and exam weeks, The Daily Egyptian is published Monday through Friday during the fall and spring semesters and TWThF during the summer semester."

The tale of the Garland Princess

Samantha Edmondson

Daily Egyptian

The crown sat inside a large Rubbermaid tub on the Williams' living room couch. And the family did not know if its existence until they began to decorate their Christmas tree.

It was made of fake green garland and buried beneath the red tinsel and felt stockings. TaiAnn Williams found the semi-circular branch and showed it to her mother, Monet.

Monet picked it up and replied it looked like a crown. Her husband, Dernado, or "D" for short, stopped assembling the fake tree, her son Nicholas paused from spinning in his socks on the hardwood floor and the 6-month-old Williams baby, M'liyah watched her 26-year-old mother.

"I crown you 'greenery of the year,'" she laughed as she place the garland crown on TaiAnn's head. But Monet found another piece inside the tub and TaiAnn immediately crowned her mother.

"I will be the queen and you will be the princess," she said.

Monet chuckled and proceeded to continue the extra yearly activity with her family before they all had to attend school the next day.

For eight years, Monet has fit into the category of a nontraditional student. Her responsibilities doubled with attending SIUC, but also working, raising her children and being a wife.

Even though the Williams are one of many families on campus whose story is representative to the SIUC community and its diversity, a day in the life of a garland princess is no fairy tale.

Once Upon a Time (subhead)

Eight years ago, Monet gave birth to TaiAnn.

TaiAnn's father was sometimes around for his daughter but lost touch when Monet and her daughter moved away from her family in Chicago to come to SIUC.

"It was hard at first, but this is a family-oriented town," she said.

Attending classes in pursuit of her health education major, the senior began to meet more people and form a support system, particularly her husband, "D."

In the fall 1998, Monet and "D," a 22-year-old sophomore in elementary education, met in a class they had together, and the love blossomed into a marriage on Valentine's Day in 2001.

Even though both are from Chicago, the two are opposite in many ways. Monet is on the dean's list and likes to be organized, while Denardo said he likes to procrastinate and gets decent grades.

All in all, the two have worked out a schedule that allows them to get their work done and still have fun being a family.

"We dance around the house, read books to the kids. We are a fun family," Monet said. "But we are usually in bed by 10 p.m."

Part of a diverse demographic (subhead)

Monet is representative of the traditional definition of a nontraditional student, according to Larry Dietz, vice chancellor of Student Affairs and Enrollment Management.

Dietz said typically a student who is 25 years and older is classified as a nontraditional student. But the University is increasing in its nontraditional student population, many of who are younger than 23.

In fact, according the 2001 SIUC Fact Book, the average age of an undergraduate student has been 23 since 1993.

Paulette Curkin, coordinator for nontraditional student programs, said nontraditional students are more common now on college campuses, but they are also more independent.

As a result, along with loss of funding to the Nontraditional Student Advisory Board, Curkin said more students are not interested or do not have time to participate in planning and attending some of the events.

But Monet, who is currently attending her internship at the Shawnee Pregnancy Center, a member of two organizations, takes care of three children and works for the Bursar Office, said she would attend.

"I think they do not have enough programs for nontraditional students, especially for single mothers," Monet said. "If they had programs, those parents could meet each other and create a support system."

Thankfully, Monet does have a support system in several friends and her husband's local family.

"Sometime they will come get the kids without me asking them," Monet said. "I am just like, 'Thank you, you do not know how much that means to me.'"

Monet said her family is also her support system and the household is representative of that support. With music constantly filling up the space of each room, the stomp of feet and dancing drum in time with each song.

The singing of the garland princess helps not only her children learn, but love the moments they spend together like the one Sunday evening during Christmas decorating.

Happily Ever After (subhead)

Nicholas stretched on his tiptoes to peer into a large green Rubbermaid tub full of Christmas decorations open on his living room couch.

Barely tall enough to see inside, the 3-year-old watched as his 8-year old sister, TaiAnn, pointed to each item with increasing enthusiasm.

"We have red garland and green garland," she said as she wrapped the shiny tinsel around her neck. "Oh, and the candy canes, I'll get them."

Meanwhile, another scarlet item in the tub caught her brother's eye ˜ a glass ball ornament.

Nicholas reached for it, but TaiAnn returned from the kitchen with the candy canes and stopped him.

"You know what happened last year, you broke one," she said to him.

But Nicholas wanted to help decorate the Williams family Christmas tree, a tradition he found more interesting then when they first got the tree the year before.

TaiAnn helped her mother Monet and Monet's husband Denardo finish dressing the green evergreen with garland, lights, homemade ornaments and Christmas cards, while singing and dancing to the "Soulful Christmas" compact disc.

Nicholas grabbed the red ball attempting to help. But it slipped from his hands and broke on the floor.

"I knew it was bound to happen," Denardo said while holding M'liyah.

The family cleaned up the mess and laughed about the small mishap after an extremely busy day. The Williams wanted to solidify a Christmas decorating tradition in its second year after their normal routine of attending the 11 a.m. service at Hopewell Church and running errands.

Yet, the family would soon go to bed and prepare for a week of finals for "D," school for Nicholas and TaiAnn, play at Rainbow's End for M'liyah and finishing her internship for the garland princess.

Before the night was over, the queen of greenery dethroned her mother from her position. But next year, Monet will get a chance to reclaim her title.

For now, the garland princess fluffed out some branches on the family tree and topped the evergreen with a Christmas card decorated with a picture of her son.

A cheer rumbled through the living room and "D" asked Monet to turn off the lights. Everyone awed and the children approached the tree with fascination.

The garland princess beamed with joy and knew this family tradition would continue.

"We did it!" Monet said, her heads clasped in excitement. She smiled and said with a mother's pride, "That's teamwork."

Reporter Samantha Edmondson can be reached at sedmondson@dailyegyptian.com

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