<p>Well, tonight is it: Senior Prom. My “DW” (sarcastic quotes) signed me up for the AfterProm. This is an elaborate affair, incredible decorations, crowds of kids, and lots of fun things to do. I’m going to be a blackjack dealer from midnight to 5:00am. Then all the kids (am I still calling them kids?) go out to breakfast and then home to sleep all day.</p>
<p>But I am not really a late night person. And, for various reasons, cannot have more than a smidge of caffeine. Any suggestions???</p>
<p>Gum. That really intense stuff that makes you jump out of your skin for the first few seconds. Like Eclipse.</p>
<p>Gatorade, which has enough sugar in it to wake the dead.</p>
<p>Think back to your own prom night, guaranteed to keep you awake.</p>
<p>Here’s a thought to make you feel better - I have my oldest son graduating from college on the same day as the younger son’s senior prom. Graduation is local and 10 am; prom starts at 5:30 pm. Should go off without a hitch, unless it rains. At which point, the graduation is moved to later in the day and I will start drinking at 10 am. Oh wait, I also have to add that my daughter comes home from college the night before!</p>
<p>mcdeb: :):):):):):):):)</p>
<p>Dig,
Have a drink and go back to bed NOW. Don’t forget to set your alarm.</p>
<p>ICE WATER. </p>
<p>Lots and lots and lots of ice water, in a Nalgene bottle so you can transport it and have it not taste like plastic. (When I was pregnant and not drinking coffee, I trained myself to use ice water instead and it worked fairly well.)</p>
<p>Take your wireless laptop with you. when you think you might be drowsy, log on to cc and we’ll keep you awake. :D</p>
<p>Actually, I think the kids will keep you awake. We did the casino portion of Proj. Grad last year (here, the jr. parents do it so the srs. are “free” of their own parents). Our shift wasn’t as bad as yours, but watching the kids, playing dealer (they love poker, blackjack etc.) should be fun and an “upper.”</p>
<p>Report back.</p>
<p>Good luck! They really work you tough out there. At our ATPP, parents (no senior parents allowed) can sign up to work for two-hour shifts.</p>
<p>I did it for a few years and am the type to be in bed by 10. But being surrounded by all those seniors and parents was entertaining enough to let even me stay up to 5:00 a.m. I heartily recommend it.</p>
<p>Headphones and a CD player of newborns wailing; ie Whatt Will Happen If I Fall Asleep! :eek:</p>
<p>I was going to record my neighbor’s dog barking all night and send it to you. That keeps me from sleeping!</p>
<p>over30 - We’re fostering a dog whose owner died and taking care of another dog plus we have our three. I have enough barking, thank you.</p>
<p>Well, S just left for prom night (we made him bring his date by for photos). Poor kids. It is snowing like crazy outside right now (a couple of inches expected tonight and another couple of inches tomorrow) and the temperature is in the high 20s. And his date had a gown with spaghetti straps!</p>
<p>Dig, well, if they get stranded in the snow at least they won’t starve. (Sorry, that was really bad.) </p>
<p>Hope everyone has fun tonight!</p>
<p>Don’t you think the periodic squeals of blackjack winners will be enough to keep you awake? I might be wondering what kind of ear-protection would be socially acceptable!</p>
<p>Baby wipes, or moist clothe thingys—its cleans you up, but is really refreshing-- use on feet, back of neck, hands, face, under arms, seriouslly it really can make you feel more alert, and you will smell better too, be sure and bring lots, because once people know you have them, they will come begging!!</p>
<p>Also, I find bringing a different pair of shoes and socks, or a different shirt to change into is also refreshing</p>
<p>Y’know what, these are all REALLY good suggestions, I’m going to keep them in mind the next time I have to pull an all-nighter!</p>
<p>…</p>
<p>Then again, I can’t imagine when that might be… but they’re great suggestions anyway!</p>
<p>Mootmon - for me it will be when I’m pacing the floor waiting for that first grandchild.</p>
<p>So dig… how did it go? :)</p>
<p>Believe it or not, I’m still awake from last night. The AfterProm event was just great and I had such a good time playing blackjack dealer that the time almost flew by. I say “almost” because around 4:30am, the fatigue hit.</p>
<p>But there was no time for sleep. Immediately after the event, I had to drive my wife all the way to Denver for her to run a 5K race that she had been looking forward to. And yes, she was at the event all night as well. So after the morning race, we had to drive all the way to Manitou Colorado (about an hour from Denver) to take some Venture Scouts caving for the rest of the afternoon. We ate out on the way back home and just arrived!! I AM EXHAUSTED, so no CC tonight… ZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzz…</p>
<p>Oh, dig, what a good dad/H you are. And spelunking as well! You could have just hunkered down in a dry part of the cave and taken a well-deserved snooze.</p>
<p>Now that I’ve had TWELVE hours sleep (no joke), I can think again. What fun that was. It was a very elaborate AfterProm party with an Egyptian theme and incredible decorations. There were 600 students there, lots of parent volunteers, a band, mountains of food and drink all night, the casino tables, prize drawings, a gym full of elaborate equipment (trampoline, sumo wrestling suits, a human-sized foosball game with human foosballers, a large air-slide, movie rooms and so much more. Several of the students came to this party and did not go to the prom beforehand.</p>
<p>The best part of the night was getting to know students that I had never met before. The casino tables tended to attract groups of kids that hung out together, and they tended to stay at a table for quite a while. There were a few groups that were so funny, they had me in stitches a lot of the night. I had a great time. I’m even thinking about volunteering to do this again next year even though S will be in college.</p>