Prom

Friends since elementary school

Today is my first prom as a mom. Hmm, that could be a poem, if I weren't stressed about the house work. Well, guess not too stress, since I'm writing and looking forward to an cooler walk than yesterday. Who'd thought the third day of May it would be 80 degrees at ten AM?
Last Saturday, Mary Ellen and I shopped for her shoes. It felt so much like when I was her age. I had energy to keep going until we found those shoes. My first prom, I didn't have much time to look as my date asked me two weeks before the prom. He was a shy guy. I broke up with a boyfriend to go with the senior. I was a sophomore, a little self centered, I guess.
We traveled to the Southern Park Mall. Now I forget the name of the store, but long dresses were in most stores. Prom dresses weren't as elaborate in 1977. The dress was a shimmering muted green, with an open back for twelve dollars on sale. I wore black sandals. My date wore a green tux.
The two senior boys came to pick me up first before we got the other girl, who was also a senior. My mom told my dad, " You have to come see these boys, their hair is prettier than the girls." And it was. My date had black curly hair and the other boy had super blonde curls. He was attired in red and black formal wear. My hair was the longer page boy cut I wore for years.
My junior year I donned a yellow gingham dress, square neck and slightly poffy sleeves with clear plastic shoes. I still did my own hair, but with hot curlers this year. Again the boy's hair was curlier than mine. One member of the school board remarked that she liked seeing me look wholesome, compared to some of the girls' dresses. I had fun that year as my date thought he was in love with another girl and even though we had gone agreeing as friends, it still was not fun as I danced with his dad to see him kissing the other girl. I guess I was too wholesome.
Mary Ellen is going for the forties classic movie look with finger wave hair and a gold sequin dress. I'll post pictures later. She too is just going as friends with the date. She is on the prom committee. She has a blast with her friends, so I'm sure her first prom experience will be fantastic.