Prom

By OnTheCusp

 
Tonight, my oldest child went to his senior prom.  What a magical night.  What a magical time in the life of young adults, when girls can play dress up for real, and boys look like men.  It’s a rite of passage.

In the months leading up to prom, I broached the subject carefully.  I didn’t want to scare him off, but oh! did I want him to go to this.  He stayed home and read last year, on the evening of junior prom.  I longingly looked at pictures of his peers on Facebook.  The boys were so handsome in their tuxes, the girls stunning in their gowns.

Two months leading up to prom, he decided that yes, he did want to go.  After a few weeks of hemming and hawing, he finally asked his girl friend – carefully explaining to me that it was not a girlfriend – to go, and she said yes. 

Then we were off to the store to rent the tux.  After I got over the sticker shock, we went through the options.  Bow tie or tie?  Vest?  Which color?  Pocket silk?  Shoes – pointed or round?  I had no idea that men had such fashion choices.

Fast forward to tonight, when my son transformed into a tuxedo-clad handsome young man.   We went to the park in town, where all the seniors gathered to take pictures.  The girls were gorgeous, in all colors, shapes and sizes.  One young woman wore a beautiful dress kimono that was stunning, complete with socks and sandals.  Another wore a dress that was barely there at all.  One young woman wore a tux, escorting a pretty girl in a long sequence gown. 

Everywhere, young faces glowed, their happiness at the evening shining through.  As a friend commented in looking at the diversity of the crowd, it gave one such hope for the future of our society.  In a few short weeks, these kids, now young adults, will graduate high school and go on to higher education, the military, the workforce. 

But tonight, they get to play dress up and enter a ballroom called prom.  They will kick up their heels, dance themselves silly, and let loose. 

It's a magical night indeed.