Prom 2016

I didn't go to prom. In my day you only went to prom if you had a date. No one went solo and no one went with, gasp, a friend. We wouldn't have even thought about doing such a thing, and because of that many of us didn't get to experience the big night. At the time, I was bummed, but secretly, deep down, I was relieved. I wasn't much for dressing up, wearing make-up, and dancing. Not my thing. Plus, all of the expectations of prom and dating would have just sent me over the edge.

I blossomed early in the whole boyfriend thing. I had one at the age of twelve and it was serious. Serious enough that my mom and his mom kept a close eye on us and popped up in places we did not expect them to interrupt us. He was more interested in the physical side of things than I was, but all of those feelings and pressures are things I still cringe about today. In looking back on it as an adult I realize the whole relationship was not easy or fun and probably made me gun shy during the years I should have been experimenting. So missing prom? I've never regretted it.

My kids won't (and didn't) have to worry about any of that. Now days most everyone goes to prom either with dates, or with friends, or alone. Madison's class went as a huge group her junior and senior year. There were a few who went as couples within the group which mainly meant someone asked someone and paid for the ticket and a corsage. That class took pictures together, went to dinner together, danced together at prom, and grabbed a bit to eat after prom. Darcy's group is a bit more adventurous than that. The boys are very into the dating scene. It is as if it is a requirement in their teenage years, as is partying. They have a list of things that must be accomplished in high school and by golly, they are going to follow that list. (If only they did that with their schooling, huh?)

Darcy is the opposite. She is very comfortable being single. She prefers being friends with guys. Most of her close friends are guys because they present less drama than the girls. Her girl pals consist of close friends and good friends. They all hang together in a group and they debated long and hard on whether they even wanted to go to prom. Then the boys started asking the girls to be their date and those who declined or weren't asked decided to have the experience too. Darcy was one of four in her group that didn't have a date. She didn't care. She went anyway.

She dragged me dress shopping under the pretense of getting some other item of clothing. We hopped into the dress shop and she modeled for us, deciding in less then an hour her dress. We bought it. She borrowed shoes. She had her make-up done and her hair done. The only thing I had to do was hand over the credit card and take pictures.

She said it was okay. She enjoyed dressing up and feeling beautiful and taking pictures. The rest of it was boring. She hates dancing. She stayed the entire time, and afterwards went to Starbucks to hang out and talk. She was home by her driving curfew mandated by the state of Florida. She said she most likely won't go next year. Prom? Done it. Over it. Moving on.