A couple weeks ago, I had the pleasure of interviewing Zeta Tau Alpha’s house mom, Lynda Dennis. This time spent with her was filled with smiles, giggles and very wise words. I thank the Lord every day for this wonderful woman! Read our interview below for a good laugh or two.

When did you first become a house mom?            

August 2004 in the fall.

What schools have you been at before Arkansas?            

I was at Florida State with Delta Zeta, University of Georgia with Zeta Tau Alpha, Indiana University with Alpha Chi Omega and University of Central Florida with Zeta Tau Alpha.

What are your favorite parts about our house?            

Our house feels like home; it doesn’t feel like an institution. It feels like you are walking into your OWN home.

My favorite room is the one girl room on the third floor. It has a window seat and it just has a lot of character. My favorite place in the whole world is the backyard. I have my coffee out there in the mornings and I keep it updated with plants and flowers. I am out there a lot. From my room I can open the blinds and see into the backyard. We have a humming bird and Theodor [the resident’s cat who lives behind Zeta] come visit from time to time. Last Sunday I was reading the paper and Theodor jumped up on the table and started pawing the paper! I said to him…“I am going to break every little paw pad you have!” I would have named the cat Curious George. He is very talkative in his language.

What’s the number one thing you love about your job?            

The girls. I get more from y’all than I give. You girls keep me young…killing me keeping me young! Our first Christmas year at Arkansas we had five weeks off from school, after two weeks I was so ready to come back. I love my girls.

What’s your idea of a perfect date?            

Oh my gosh, I haven’t been on one in so long! I would say it would have to be a girly date. My idea is going to antique and flea markets and then grabbing a quick lunch. After a day of shopping I then come home to my girls. 

Imagine you were my age again, what’s the number one quality you looked for in a man?

Number one?...if he was a Christian. I still look for that. I only have two requirements: he has to be a Christian who takes me fishing. Women don’t like to fish…but if he asks me “Wanna go fishing?, I’ll say “Wanna go get married right now?".

What’s on your bucket list?

I want to do a zip line. I like doing different things. 

What is the craziest thing you’ve seen as a house mom?            

I can tell you the craziest story…you will freak! Y’all don’t need to know where it happened, though. It was 10:15 at night and I was doing paperwork in my room. A girl comes in and asks me, “Mom, do you have a pair of plyers?” I gave them to her but said, “Katy by the way, what are you doing with those?” She said, “My dad always fussed at me for pulling my hair dryer out of the wall by pulling on the cord.” …She wanted to get the metal part out of the socket! I said are you ready to say HELLO JESUS?! It would have shocked the living Jesus out of her! I told her, “Don’t you dare touch it. I’ll get an electrician out to take care of it.” Yep, that was the craziest thing I’ve seen.

What’s the craziest thing you’ve ever done?            

Oh, I can’t tell! …Okay, probably going jeep riding in the clay pits.

How old were you?

Hmm old enough to know better! [Laughs] I was probably 22 or 23. We would go flying up over these things. One time, when my date got to the bottom of the pits in the jeep, I wasn’t there. I went flying out on the way! I had on white shorts in clay, eek! They weren’t hootchie mama, just cute white shorts. I wasn’t hurt, but my feelings definitively were. I was trying to stay in the jeep because I wanted to impress him!

After the interview we sat and chatted for a while. I could sit and talk to her for hours. She has so much wisdom and can definitely keep me entertained with all the fun, random stories. My favorite quote Mom Lynda said during our interview was, “Discipline relates to love, if I acted like I didn’t care about y’all, you wouldn’t care about me.” And I replied, “If you weren’t tough on us, we wouldn’t be where we are now.” My friendship with Mom is never ending. I am definitely going to miss her southern accent and bubbly personality after graduation.