Preparation

It is, after all, the key to success, right?

Prom has been a surprisingly big deal at our house. I can't remember K ever being this excited for anything. The final weeks of her senior year have been spectacular. YCL activities for summer girl's camp, Regional Choir, 1st soprano in All State Choir and the choir trip to San Fransisco have all been highlights. Anticipation of prom, however, lit her eyes like nothing else.

You have to understand that K has never been a girly girl. No frills, ruffles, floofs, or flounces for her. Prom, however has been another story, altogether. The preparation has resulted in the perfect coming together of the perfect parts. I'll explain:

The Date: T. Her favorite, kindest, talented, funny, most polite friend who smells good and happens to be very handsome.

The Dress: It's the one of her dreams. K doesn't like to shop. She gets it from me. Together we are quite a duo. We ventured off go AZ Mills to Group USA where we have had amazing luck finding great dresses in the past at GREAT prices (usually on the clearance rack). She told me she might want red. She spied this one almost as soon as we walked into the store. It was in a clear bag in the bridal section. She could see the color and the roses and knew it was perfect. She didn't dare step toward it, but when I saw it, I wanted her to at least try it on. Our arms were piled high as we made our way into the dressing rooms. Each dress was beautiful. She saved The Dress for last. There was a unanimously audible "ohhh" when we saw her. The other moms and girls had all stopped and turned. That, I think, is what sold her. Of course, with the price, we had only tried it on for fun. We took pictures so we could remember what the goal was as we searched for a similar dress, and if necessary, we could show granny what the goal was as we searched for patterns and fabric. We left the mall empty handed and stopped at the first fabric store, but came out disappointed. The next day, K left for her choir trip. That night, Papa came to visit. He asked if we found a dress, we told him about our new quest to either find a similar one or make one. Long story, not as long as it could be :), when K came home from her trip, she had a surprise waiting. Aunt KK "just happened" to have fabric that matched to add on the sleeves, and granny did her magic.The Accessories: R is the best dad ever and loves to shop with K. He is the one who took her and found the shoes and tiara. Aunt L loaned the gorgeous jewelry. I asked K if she wanted something "more"... fancy, bauble-y, pearl-y, sparkle-y? She insisted that the pieces from L were just what she had envisioned.
The Team: Aunt KK is an aesthetician and came and did make-up... perfectly. S, our good friend and "hair-doer" brought her sister B and they did the amazing curls and styles. Thanks team! It was so fun, and 2 friends came and got ready here, too.
It seems a little funny to me, that we made such a big deal of a high-school date. To K, though, it was a big deal.

I have learned that when we make a big deal of the things that are important to our children they grow in confidence and self worth and feel lifted by the family.

That is always worth the preparation.