Emma's Junior Prom

Prom was something I asked Emma about every once in awhile throughout the year and she only had a vague "I don't know" kind of response. Without a boyfriend or serious prospect of being asked to the prom she was non-committal. As it approached, I told her that she would need to decide sooner than later because of the prep that was involved. Her friends started buying dresses and after some discussions, they all decided to go together as a big group of girls. It grew to a group of 12.

The decision was made but the dress was never discussed and then there were some busy weekends. Time was of the essence and with only a week to go we went prom dress shopping. It was fun to shop but there was not much to choose from. Em kept picking out blush colored and pale dresses but we quickly realized she looked best in the navy blues and deep tones. Emma kept going back to a strapless plum colored gown but it was expensive.  Jim and I were pitching in $100 but she had to cover everything else. We left the store but after discussing it went back and bought it. We could return it if another dress was found, but she didn't want to get stuck without any dress at all. We had an appointment at a shop the next afternoon but we weren't confident they would have anything. Emma tried of a good number of other dresses but the plum dress was the one she wanted and she had been saving so the plum dress it was. Then we needed shoes and undergarments and makeup and jewelry.

The dress was way too long so we found an alteration place that could do it in 3 days and Jim took Emma to get fitted and drop it off. The dress was ready on Friday, just one day to spare. Saturday was Bridget's 1st Communion so after the Mass and celebration, Emma and I switched gears to prom prep. She had wanted a low side bun and she searched youtube for a tutorial that we thought I could manage. It took a little trial and error and a extra hair wash after I was heavy handed with gel but I got the hang of it and was able to do the style. We had to modify the directions due to Emma's thick hair. It was many steps and required a ton of bobby pins but it looked great and was very secure.

Emma looked very pretty. She was happy and excited, really excited. Emma asked Grandma to join us for the picture taking gathering at a friends house. The girls all looked great and after a few awkward moments they settled into the excited laughter of teenage girls. They were happy to pose for pictures and then piled into 2 cars to head to dinner. Emma forgot her prom ticket so I dropped Grandma at the house and drove the ticket to the local restaurant where they had a dinner reservation for 12. The prom itself was at the high school in a transformed cafeteria. Emma said it was fantastic. She said they stayed the whole time and danced. then all 12 of the girls went back to another friends house to spend the night. They stayed up late talking and Emma was still smiling when I picked her up early the next morning. Emma had to go to an AYAC meeting and made a silent early morning exit.

She is very glad she went and bonded with a great group of girls.