Prom, Minus The

We hit two major milestones last weekend in my family. My youngest graduated from elementary school and my oldest went to prom.  Apparently, it is no longer cool to say “the.”  It’s just prom.  I also recently discovered ‘kids these days’ no longer say “cool beans” either. 

I got a lot of eye rolls when I talked about elementary school graduation. I’m not sure why people get angry over graduations outside of high school and college. Heaven forbid we praise children and allow them to celebrate their achievements. Why on earth would we want to encourage them to value an education?  It didn’t hurt anyone when my daughter walked across the stage wearing a paper graduation cap.  She was beaming with pride. For me it’s a time to celebrate and cry.  I get emotional at the end of every school year. No, it’s not because my children will be home all day and asking for a snack 99% of the time. They are growing up and another phase of motherhood has passed by.

My oldest attended his first prom. He is a sophomore, but several of his friends are seniors and wanted him to go. I was hesitant because it’s tradition to go with a date.  When I was younger, if you didn’t have a date you didn’t go. Nowadays, it’s common for kids to go in large groups.  That is great for those of us who are late bloomers.  I wish I would have known back then that peaking in high school isn’t a good thing.  The stud of your senior class grows up to look like Peter Griffen. 

My son looked handsome in his tuxedo. He also looked so grown up. It seems like yesterday I was dropping him off for his first day of kindergarten. That day I bent down and kissed his forehead before he shuffled into the classroom wearing a backpack almost as big as he was,”Have a great time! I love you.” I didn’t let him know I was upset. I drove by the school four times that day. It’s hard to let go and it doesnt get any easier as they age. I was just as anxious sending him off to prom. He is taller than me, but will always be my baby. I adjusted his bow tie, smiled and hugged him goodbye. I turned away as a single tear streamed down my face, “Have a great time! I love you.”