Prom Report

Maggie had a BLAST at her prom. I was a doubting Thomas throughout the process. I thought the crowd would scare her, I though the music would scare her, I thought she would be too tired on a Friday night, I thought she would last about 30 minutes tops. If Maggie had the motor skills, she would roll her eyes at me. I was wrong wrong wrong.


But let’s start at the beginning. You will recall the vote on the appropriate wrap for the prom. Maggie kept changing her own vote but we ultimately opted for the blue sweater. The overwhelming majority, including me, voted for the white. However, I noticed that everyone who works with kids, and all the kids themselves, voted for the blue one. In addition, those within San Francisco voted for the blue 10-1. San Francisco voting results never correlates with state or national votes, so this is nothing new, but I have to listen to our peeps. She looked fabulous.

Prom day started in the classroom after lunch when they had a “beauty day.” Maggie and her only female classmate, Cui Peng, were pampered. They had their nails done and hair adorned. Cui Peng also got dressed up at school and was all ready to go.

Maggie got all dressed and ready at home. It was the first time she ever wore stockings (other than tights) and she could not stop rubbing her legs and laughing. We arrived at the prom about 45 minutes after it started (you do not want to be the first one there.) All but one of her friends had already arrived. In a very sad twist, Maggie’s girlfriend Cui Peng did not get to come because the van pickup never arrived. Cui sat there dressed up for two hours and the van never came. I offered to send my husband over to get her in the van, but by that time, her mother was understandably angry and had given up. That was a dark cloud in an otherwise bright evening.

Maggie danced the night away and smiled and laughed all night long.

 

Maggie really the dancing and the music and her beau Juan was very attentive. They even had a formal picture taken together. (I have not seen that yet.) Juan was decked out in his suit and, as handsome as he was, he was in competition with Tyre in his suit and hat and with Robert in his Cape and Italian Flag bow tie.

The rest of the students were also resplendent. A few went a little different. I had to grab a picture of this guy who dressed as either a marching bandleader or a 1940’s theatre usher. (He was very proud of his outfit and gladly posed for the picture) Some of the young women were so beautifully dressed it astounded me. Others, however, would not have passed muster at the Catholic school my boys attended. At my sons' school, the kids could not go to the prom unless the parents attended a meeting to learn the rules of the prom and, specifically, what was and was NOT acceptable attire. I promise you some of these outfits would have made the Christian Brothers blush. YOWSA! I had to cover my eyes.

The kids were having fun, I didn't see anything that suggested any alcohol use or any trouble of any kind. If there was any, it was not evident and did not diminish the evening in any way shape or form. The teachers and administrators were present but seemed to be having fun, not patrolling. 

The best part of the rest of the attendees, however, was the lack of response to the wheelchairs or the special ed kids dancing and having fun. They special ed kids were not “tolerated”, ridiculed, or coddled. They were ignored because they were just part of the backdrop. They are nothing special. That is appropriate teenage behavior, but in this case, it is awesome because it shows how accepting the kids are to the differences.

Maggie stayed at the prom for 2.5 hours. Rather than the anticipated fear, the noise and revelry seemed to give her energy. She laughed her head off and completely enjoyed herself. We left after 10Pm and she was completely spent. It took her all weekend to recover, which is exactly what a good prom should do.

Steve and I are still recovering. If you want to feel old, I suggest you spend a few hours at a high school prom.

The music is nothing I remotely regonzized - except for one of Maggie's favorites, "Imma B." (Steve is still astounded he didn't hear "Freebird"all night.) The dancing is enough to make you blush. Despite the change in styles of music and dance, the kis are all dressed up and grinning ear to ear. that part is timeless.