Senior Prom

Our Senior Prom was held over the weekend.  Out of 3 children, our youngest one was the first and only one to go to prom.

Their group began planning this excursion this time last year.  Over the course of the year, a plan slowly emerged and widened to include boyfriends and very close friends.   They made plans to rent a limo, and to stop and have a very nice dinner at a local restaurant in our little town.

Funny little twist here.  Prom was supposed to be in Baltimore City.  You know, the Baltimore that has been experiencing some massive civil unrest. In an unprecedented move, which will hurt businesses throughout Baltimore, the counties cancelled all proms held in the city and demanded that they be located outside of the cites.  A mad dash of schools ensued as alternate plans were made, school gymnasiums were pressed into service, and unique venues were found.  (Public Library, anyone?)  Keep in mind, there were kids in Baltimore, at their prom 2 weeks ago when the rioting began at Camden Yards.  The kids all arrived home, safe and without incident, but it definitely impacted the decision makers in the counties. Our school was fortunate to quickly find another venue in the area.

Within the kids prom group, there was a little prama drama.  Of course, everything erupted at the last minute.  They had 10 people in their group going in, and one gentleman invited a date just days before prom.  Unfortunately, there was no room for her in the 10 seat limo.  There was no space for him to go in the limo with her group.... so.... they went in separate limos and met up at prom.  I hear they had a blast, and the meeting up at prom thing helped a lot with the whole "not really knowing each other because we just wanted a prom date" thing.  We also had kids who were coming from track meets and baton twirling competitions.  We ended up having to wait an extra few minutes while the last of the kids trickled in from their various, far flung locations.

We were fortunate.  We heard of more prama drama from other groups.  Daughter tells me they sat at a table outside most of the evening and talked.  13 school days to graduation, and they are grabbing every opportunity they can to spend time together.

As parents, this is a milestone for us.  It's a bittersweet moment, realizing that our kids are almost finished with high school, and moving on into their own lives.  It seems like only yesterday that my daughter was toddling around the house, wearing tutus and plastic high heels. 

We spent a fun hour with the kids, taking pictures and enjoying what fun people they've become.

As they were getting ready to climb into the limo, one of the fathers shouted "Hey, we made reservations at your restaurant.  We're all going too, and we're going dressed like THIS!!!"  The kids laughed us off and climbed into the limo and headed off on their grand adventure.

The parents broke off and headed off on their own.

Husband and I headed off to dinner at one of our favorite little restaurants.  As we sat there, it hit us that in September - after raising kids for 22.5 years, we will be kid free.  We will be able to make decisions that impact just us - and not have to take school districts, track meets, art classes, soccer practices or school schedules into account.

Whoa.

Talk about a weird feeling!  We began pulling out our dreams from our pre-kid years, and dusted them off.  We talked about places we still wanted to go, and things we want to do.  Compared to many of the parents of kids of the same age as ours, we are still very young.  Our youngest child is headed to college in the fall, and we will just have turned 50.  There's a lot of life still in front of us, and the possibilities are endless.

So, while our kids begin their own life journeys and adventures, my husband and I are dusting out our long held but never forgotten dreams and making plans to follow through on them.

This next phase of our lives is going to be a grand adventure!