Prom Tales

Golda really wanted to go to prom this year.  She has never been, and she just wanted that experience.  Her dance company friends did such a good job procuring here a date, she got asked twice before the boy who was initially planning on asking her got around to it. Ya snooze, ya lose!  Golda was relieved and thrilled to have been asked.  When the second kid asked, Araceli was the only one home and she texted us a picture of the garage covered in post-it notes.  Our first thought was, "Excellent!  Now Ruby is going too!"  Darn, if only.  The kid is in Ruby's seminary class, and Golda had left him a message right away saying she had already been asked.  So when Ruby saw him at seminary, she said, "Hey, so did you get Golda's message?"  He hadn't, and Ruby had to break the news.  Awk----ward!!  We were all laughing, thinking Ruby could have just played innocent and instead, said to him, "Of course I'll go to prom with you, but my name is spelled R-U-B-Y.  It's funny, because you spelled it G-O-L-D-A on the invitation, but it's fine."

But Ruby never got asked.  It's so sad having the possibility of a late-night doorbell ditch, and being disappointed every night.  I wish every girl could go!  So the night before prom, Friday night, Scott was in Park City and texted me, "Golda said Elisa Hanney's son's friends were giving him a hard time in seminary, trying to get him to ask someone to prom.  Text her and see if he'll take Ruby."

That was all it took.  It was the answer I had been trying to come up with for weeks!  I tried not to be a meddling mom on this prom thing, but...OK, I didn't try not to be a meddling mom, I just couldn't figure out how to meddle.  Here was my chance!  I didn't even hesitate, I just threw it out there to Elisa.  Her reply came a few minutes later, I'm sure after a quick Facebook search of "Ruby Dopp."  

"Colin would love to take Ruby to the prom."

It was late at night, and I was sitting there watching TV with Ruby.  After texting back and forth with Elisa, we decided I should just tell Ruby.  Collin was at the Avengers movie and it would be after midnight when he got home.  So I jumped up off the couch like a baboon and screamed, "You're going to the PROM!!!!"

Ruby looked at me like I was dirty dancing in Sunday School and said, "Mom...No.  What?"  After I convinced her it was for real, she started to allow herself to be excited.  Coco had just taken the girls shopping at Twirl THAT day and purchased some dresses for Dance Company soiree.  It was decided Ruby would wear one of those, Colin would wear a suit, they would go to Oakridge for dinner, done.  Elisa and I thought it would be much less awkward if they each found a friend who could double with them.  Ruby and I so wanted to find a girl who hadn't been asked, and just make her day, but we couldn't think of the perfect person.  I knew a girl who works at Kaysville Theater, and I had just been talking to her hours before about how she hadn't been asked to her prom.  I was trying to convince Ruby to march down to the theater and ask this girl to prom on behalf of a friend of Ruby's blind date.  That's not crazy or weird, right?  Ruby resisted.  She said, "Mom, I know what this is!  She puts the extra butter on your popcorn, doesn't she!?  This is about the butter!"  

Ruby nailed it.  It was about the butter.  This girl is super friendly and gorgeous, but she doesn't go to Davis, and so she wasn't really being left out of this prom per se.  In the end, Ruby really felt like she needed someone there who was fun, outgoing, beautiful and that she knew really well.  So I texted Jennie, "Would Lexie want to go to Davis prom tomorrow?"  She said yes!  Then she put the wheels in motion to procure the most stunning dress.  I am in awe that Lexie had a contingency plan to get this dress.  You know, just in case a cousin called and invited her on a blind date to another school's prom in less than 24 hours.  You gotta be prepared!

After much texting and facebook stalking, we wrapped it up for the night, with four kids nervous and excited for prom in, oh 18 hours.  There was one glitch:  they stopped selling tickets after school Friday and you can't get them at the door.  I was confident that someone in Kaysville had the power to get us tickets, and I was right.  A high school friend, daughter on the junior committee, more texting, calls to the advisor, and the tickets were secured.  

That left Saturday for prom prep!  Well, and teaching violin for Ruby, play practice for Golda and ballet for both of them.  But once they got all that out of the way, they had a few hours to concentrate on getting gorgeous, because that's what prom is all about, anyway.  Clytie Su did Golda's makeup and Lexie did Ruby's.

Dress and shoes courtesy of Coco, in-house shopper!

I told the girls that this is the kind of thing we dreamed of when they were little girls, the three of them all dressed up for prom together.  I'm so glad this happened, even with the girls in different schools and different ages.  The stars were aligned for this picture, and it's beautiful!

"That's the thing about inner beauty.  It shines on everyone, catching them and holding them in its embrace, and making them more beautiful too."  My Instagram quote for this pic.

Ruby's hair is incredible.

We were super impressed with Golda's date.  He is a great kid that Golda first met in band.  Listen to this:  Michael, this kid, works at Nana's assisted living.  He walked in the other day and was talking to Nana Ruby.  Coco got talking to him about the prom somehow, and she said, "Not that I'll know who it is, but who are you taking?"  She about fell over when he said "Golda Dopp."  What a coincidence!  So any band kid who also works at an assisted living is an A+ in my book.

Needless to say, Golda had a wonderful time with Michael, saw lots of friends, and just had a really fun night.

Colin getting his corsage

Quite the motley crew to see the kids off.  Elisa just had back surgery, so it IS possible that we could attribute this whole prom night to her pain meds kicking it at the exact moment she got my initial text. I guess we'll never know!  ;)

I love how Ruby is holding Ptolemy's hand in this one.  He really thought he was going to be in all the pictures, but we thought that might look a little too Young Mothers High School Prom, not that there's anything wrong with that, just didn't want to incriminate Colin in anything he didn't do.  :)

My friend Eilyn from high school did these photos.  She and Elisa are really good friends.  I love Eilyn.  She is one of those bubbly people you just want to be around all day.  And she did an excellent job on the pictures. They were in our email inboxes within two hours, edited.

Cute, guys!!

Collin and Keegan, upon first sight, seemed like fun, playful, easygoing guys.  Plus, they are good lookin' kids!   I think Ruby and Lexie were stoked.  And I'm absolutely sure the boys were NOT at all disappointed when they saw Ruby and Lexie!  Bombshells!

Look at these two faces, upon returning home from the night.  They both glowed.  Just in case you don't feel like you've seen enough pictures, here are a whole bunch more...

Sunrise, sunset.  Golda getting ready for her last high school dance.  I try to squelch the feelings of despair I have when I think this thing is almost over.  I try to focus on the excitement of the future.  And mostly, I succeed.  But not always, not when I look at a picture like this. And can you believe this hair? And she did it like that herself!