Megan goes to Prom

 April 22, 2021

Zach's Senior Prom

Prom was an element that we used to take for granted. We knew it would happen each year and the juniors and seniors had the choice of attending or not. The pandemic changed that and proms were canceled widely both last year and again this year. Megan's high school never made any announcements about proms this year but there was a gapping hole of nothing significant planned. None of our nearby public school districts were hosting prom for the second year in a row. I think that was the hard part. Last year everyone knew things were going to be canceled but this year there were moments of hope only to go dark. 

Megan met Zach in early 2020 at retreat and they continued to talk, text, and occasionally see each other this past year. Zach came over after Megan's surgeries. With the pandemic it has been very limited but they got together in small groups a few times at the park. Zach wasn't allowed to date until his 18th birthday in March so she was respectful of that. Just recently there have been a few trips just the two of them. We asked a few times if Zach was her boyfriend and she said no, because he never asked her. I am glad she insists on the formality but we have settled on referring to them as dating but not boyfriend and girlfriend. 

Weeks ago Megan shared that Zach mentioned his Senior Prom and then backed off saying that he should check if he was allowed to go. She was in Formal Event limbo. The pandemic, parent comfort, and personal uncertainty all made things difficult. There was then no mention of prom for weeks and then with one week notice he officially asked her to go with him to his senior prom. Megan came to me and we kicked into gear. She considered maybe dress shopping for a moment but after trying on a thrifted dress she had gotten last year and loving how it looked we checked that off the do to list. She asked me to make satin masks and the flowers for both of them because of the short timeframe. We went shopping, got the supplies and new shoes and got busy.

Honestly it was a lot of fun getting to put energy into something purely for fun. I sewed them reversible white and black satin masks. We had a good time going out to find white roses and some filler flowers. I should have made the corsage and boutineer the night before because multiple trips Thursday afternoon to pick up and deliver sisters made it tricky to get it done and be helpful to Megan getting dressed. 

Megs did her makeup and got dressed as I finished up with the flowers and then I did her hair. She asked for a simple pull up of the front. We added some rhinestones and black ribbon to dress it up. She looked amazing and was ready when Zach arrived.

Zach was a little nervous and said he had forgotten to consider shoes so he had borrowed his Dad's. They were two tone wing tips and very cool, although he said they were too small. Zach is quite tall, so when Megan pinned the boutineer on it was at her eye level. They made a good looking couple.

Zach kept an eye on the time and calculated when they needed to get on the road. Happily we had plenty of time for some pictures outside. We picked a place outside where the sun wouldn't be in their eyes and Zach asked for direction. They were sweet. Only Johanna and I were home so the send off was simple.

The prom was being held at a converted barn out in Frederick. Zach goes to a small Catholic prep school and they were able to pull off a small but memorable event. Megan said that there were about 40 kids who attended. Megan said they had a good time, the food was good, the venue was great but chilly since the barn doors were all open. 

Megan asked me if I could pick her up at Zach's house after Prom. They pulled up just as I arrived at midnight. He lives in Clarksville so we had a nice drive home and Megan got to recount her evening. She got in the car holding Italian ice that they picked up at Walmart with another couple after prom ended. It sounded like a great high school memory kind of night. 

I posted pictures of Megan going to prom on Facebook and I realized how lucky she was to have this normal high school event that very few of her classmates would get this year. We were grateful for this moment and I was sensitive that it was hard for so many other kids to be missing it. Pandemic has been hard on high schoolers and I am grateful Megan got a reprieve.