Prom Preparation

Regardless of how many children you have there is something unique about your youngest because your experience things with them for the last time.
My youngest Alex is an 18-year old senior at Toms River South and this past weekend is a perfect example of what I mean. Friday night was her senior prom and as I’m sure many of you know this high school tradition is quite a bit different for a girl then a boy. With my son six years ago the preparation consisted of renting a tux and ordering flowers…actually I’m sure his mother took care of that. Prom-day itself was pretty simple….shower, get dressed, pre-prom pictures, limo, prom and that’s it.

Well for a girl it’s a completely different story. The search for the perfect dress and accessories was rather time-consuming on its own but of course I was not involved at all…it was a mother and daughter thing. Friday was a stress-filled journey of deadlines….hair appointment at 2pm, Make-up at 3:30, home to change and off to pictures. With that said it really was kind of fun as there were about 50 students and many of the parents who gathered at an pre-prom picture party in Toms River complete with food and non-alcoholic beverages. That’s where they also boarded a limo bus which they had rented from North Jersey which would take them to and from the prom in Freehold. Truthfully everything went perfect and all the students look amazing. My “little girl” was nearly as tall as me in her high-heels and was stunning.

However only 18 hours later the wardrobe was a bit different as prom dress was replaced by lacrosse uniform. South was hosting Kingsway in a State Tournament game that would go back-and-forth before the visitors scored the game-winning goal with just 10 seconds left. Suddenly you realize that all of the years of driving to and from practices and games are over because that loss ended her season and high school athletic career. Alex was in tears afterwards as were most of her teammates, especially the seniors because the ending is so sudden….no practice today but rather turn in your uniform.
Truthfully it’s just as final for me because I enjoyed almost every moment from the time she played soccer as a 5-year old through her field hockey and lacrosse career in high school. 28 days until graduation and I’m sure it will fly by.