As a teenager, I was excited and nervous about prom season. As an adult, I’m dealing with allergy season. My how life seems to change, yet in Ecclesiastes 1:9, the Bible tells us, “What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.
I was going to write today about things we are “allergic to”. My son often says he is allergic to broccoli. I’m not even sure there is a such thing. Anyways, some people also act like they are allergic to certain types of people and squench (I made this word up) their noses at certain groups..maybe that group is teenagers. However, at this time of year at the very least think back to that glorious time in your life…or maybe the not so glorious time in your life…prom. Also, be thankful for those neatly dressed kids in restaurants during this time of year.
NERD alert: According to Time.com “The word prom is short for promenade, the formal, introductory parading of guests at a party. The prom can be traced back to the simple co-ed banquets that 19th century American universities held for each year’s graduating class. A growing teenage culture pushed proms younger and younger, and by the 1940s the adolescent dance we know today had almost entirely taken hold. In the 1950s, a thriving postwar economy allowed high schools to eschew the traditional gymnasium in favor of proms held in hotels or at country clubs. President Kennedy rescheduled a 1963 $1,000-a-plate fundraiser at the Beverly Hilton to accommodate a local school whose prom had been booked for the same time. In 1975, President Ford’s daughter Susan held her high school’s senior prom at possibly the best prom location ever: the White House.”
Recently, my very cool husband and I were asked to be chaperones for a young friend of ours and this person’s date for their prom dinner. Maybe the couple was desperate and we were the last resort, at any rate, I’m excited. I’m looking for a cool car to take them in, making sure they have a nice restaurant to eat at, and thinking of other ways to help them have a great time while their cautious, loving parents feel safe also. Of course, I also want their prom to be fun. My proms were a blast mostly because I went with people who were fun. One of my prom dates was so nervous…He has a supped up Toyota Camry…yeah baby… and when we were leaving the restaurant with our motorcade of friends, he put his brother’s car in reverse instead of drive and hit our friend’s 198? T-top camaro behind us…:) poor thing. I tried not to laugh too hard.
It is a pleasure and joy to have friends of all of ages. Don’t be allergic to young people. Embrace the next generation. If you embrace them, they may actually listen to what you have to say. Share your stories good and bad and listen to theirs too. They are the generation who will be making decision for us and influencing our children.
Enjoying the season while sneezing,
Natalie
