Prom 2013

Today is Sunday, April 14, 2013. Yesterday was Nicole's Senior Prom; another "last" that I will remember as long as I live. This prom was especially memorable because both David and Nikki went. David has been out of high school since 2010 and never went to prom while he was a high school student. However, he went this year with his girlfriend, Shadi, who is graduating from high school with Nikki. It's hard to describe the pride I felt seeing my two youngest children dressed up and ready to go out last night. David is so handsome with his dark hair, fair skin and golden eyes. Nikki is also breathtakenly beautiful; tall, slender with light brown hair, green eyes and her father's golden skin. She's almost as tall as her brother! 

We began getting ready a few weeks ago shopping in the Fashion District in Downtown Los Angeles. We went two days in a row and she finally found and bought a beautiful dress. Once she got the dress home, she proceeded to customize it to suit her taste buy removing the gold chain trim and replacing it with a gold stud trim, then adding a slit on the left side of the skirt. Those alterations gave the dress a very classy, understated look. She chose gold accessories and her shoes were black suede platform pumps with gold trim. Her dress, accessories, hair and make up reflected her taste and she looked so beautiful it brought tears to my eyes. We spent yesterday morning getting her hair and make up done, then Chuck arrived and it was time for her to get dressed. Chuck is tall, dark and very handsome. He wore a classic black suit, white shirt and black bow tie; together they made a very elegant couple.

David rented his tux but, as luck would have it, the pants that came with the jacket and vest were not the ones he'd originally tried on. The pants were baggier and a size too large for him. At 3:30 he asked if we could go to H&M in the mall to see if we could find pants that fit him better and were more to his liking.  Luckily, my dear friend (who makes his living in fashion and has impecable taste) was here and able to go to the mall with us. David found the perfect pair of pants, we bought them and were home in an hour. He got dressed in his new pants, with the rented black shirt, vest and jacket and put on the turquoise tie that was matched to Shadi's dress. We went to Nikki's friends' house to take pictures of Nikki, Chuck and her friends, then drove back to our house to wait for Shadi and her friend.  The friend's date arrived about 5:15 and then he and David waited for the girls to arrive. The boys were a little nervous as they discussed how late it was getting. The girls finally arrived and they were gorgeous. Shadi is petite and her dress was very beautiful. She looked radiant as she posed by herself and with David for her mother, Candie and me. David looked very happy and proud of her. Finally the kids got into David's car and they left to take more pictures at a park.

Ray, my friend and I came in the house and started discussing dinner. All of a sudden, I realized how quiet the house was without the kids there, and that this was the last time I would prepare them for a prom and I started crying. Part of my tears came from the place in my heart that aches everytime my late husband misses a significant event in his kids' lives, and the rest were because the prom preparation experience was over forever. I'm reminded once again that "lasts" are just as special as "firsts" in children's lives. I'm grateful to be able to share experiences like this with my children and thank God every day for lending them to me to enjoy in this life.  Nikki's graduation is coming next month; this coming September will be the first time since 1980 that I'm not sending a child to school and my heart is hurting over the end of that phase of my life.

Please remember to celebrate the "firsts" and "lasts" in your life. God bless everyone, especially our troops and their families.