Prom season -- that truly wonderful and exciting dramatic and terrifying time of the year.
If you've been reading my blog you've seen me post about prom season before.
I never went to my high school prom. I didn't have a lot of friends in my class, and my boyfriend at the time had very little money. It didn't make sense for us to spend all that money, so we wound up going to the movies instead.
Not so with my daughters. I have been living the "prom drama" life for 4 years now. I've got the gray hairs to prove it!
The dress...the shoes...the hair and makeup...do you know that there's actually a magazine called Your Prom that gives fashion tips? Limo or party bus? What after-prom activites -- a party at someone's house, a trip into NYC for a show at a comedy club? Just the planning alone can cause gray hair for the parents.
Our school's prom is for members of the senior class and their invited guests. Prom is held the same weekend as graduation, the kids have their last hurrah on Friday and then graduate on Sunday. It's supposed to cut down on a lot of afterprom excesses...."supposed to" being the operative words.
The school has very strict rules, all seniors and any other student from our school who will be attending prom must come to the anti-drugs and alcohol lecture, and the student must bring a parent. Parents must sign permission slips for their child to attend prom. I don't know how much this helps...
When Jen was a junior, her core group of friends were seniors. She went to the prom with her best friend, who wwanted to be more than just "friends'; he had a major crush on Jen. Unrequited love=major teenage drama.
But that was nothing compared to the drama form Jen's senior year. I did NOT like the boy who asked her to the prom -- what do you think of a young man who says to a girl "I"m going to ask you to prom as soon as I dump my girlfriend"? Yes, he really said that to Jen. And Jen went out with him anyway -- they dated for several months and broke up just a few weeks before prom. They decided to go together "as friends". Bad mistake. They did the pre-prom photos at his friends' house, took a party bus with his friends, planned to go to an after-prom with his friends. But from the moment they arrived at the prom itself, the young man opted to pretend Jen didn't exist. She wound up hanging out with her two best friends since kindergarten, went to after-prom in their limo -- and I think she had a better time that way.
Believe it or not, Jen had prom drama last year, too. How does a college freshman find prom drama? By dating a boy who is a year younger than she is, of course. And of course, they broke up just before prom. Right after she bought that non-refundable prom dress in the outlet center ($450 dress for $100, but where will she wear it?) Not to mention, she paid for her own prom ticket, and he never gave her back the money. Lesson learned, I think. Or perhaps not....
Becca entered "prom world" last year, relatively free of drama. She attended two proms, actually. First there was a junior prom at another school with a boy she was dating. .... though that fizzled out right after prom. And she went to our school's prom with a friend -- Becca's prom date was a friend of the boy Jen was dating last year. After-prom was a party at someone's house, not very adventurous (thank goodness!)
But this year Becca is a senior, it's her prom she's planning.
The gray hairs are starting to sprout already, and prom isn't until the end of June.
It seems Becca's core group of friends wants to rent a beach house for their after-prom. There are about 40 kids involved, they want to go to the beach house after the prom Friday night and stay until early Sunday morning. "Mom, nothing is going to happen ....these are all the 'goody-two-shoes' kids in the class...don't worry"
Famous last words.
I think I'm going to need a valium to get through this year's prom season.....
I am so not looking forward to prom time with Rosie. She's a sophomore now and not thinking prom except for waiting for the dresses to go on sale since we saw one that would be great for a wedding that we are in in October. The bride wants bright colors and a 20s, 30s or 40s style. I actually already have a dress that works (I'm the matron of honor)
Posted by: Ora | April 21, 2010 at 08:51 AM
Why do girls and moms spend more time planning their prom than planning their wedding?
They only get one prom.
Posted by: David | April 21, 2010 at 08:54 AM
LOL, David...though you can see from my post that it's not true...
good luck with the shopping, Ora, I'm sure Rosie will find the perfect dress.
Posted by: songbird | April 21, 2010 at 09:26 AM
I remember dragging La Petite's boyfriend around with us while she shopped for the dress. He was very tolerant. He and I chatted while she disappeared into the dressing rooms.
Posted by: Daisy | April 21, 2010 at 06:50 PM
That is so cool, Daisy. He sounds like a nice guy.
Posted by: Songbird | April 22, 2010 at 01:17 AM