So far the biggest prom dilemma for D16 and her posse is ensuring they have enough controllers to play x-box and deciding whose house they are going to be playing at post dance, so far the front runner is “Doug’s House” his parents are going to be out of town, BAHHAHA, I haven’t decided to burst that bubble yet (and for a bunch of smart nerds…how dumb do they have to be to tell me Doug’s parents are not going to be home?)! No promposals, no expensive dresses, no beach house, no party bus.
D has perfected, in her words, resting bitchface and said not to hold out hope she will be asked to a prom and furthermore has zero interest. Phooey! When is she going to realize it is ALL ABOUT ME?? 
I did get to play doting mom for two proms. One Freshman year with a Junior she was casually dating. She felt the really fancy dresses should be for Seniors only and found an awesome short dress for $10 on clearance. Sophomore year was with a family friend, a boy who had never been on a date with parents who were desperate to see him go to Prom his Senior year. Us parents had almost as much fun as the kids. The boy’s mom came prom dress shopping with us since they have no daughters, and we moms got a hotel room in Waikiki where the prom was located. D stayed with us, and we told her we were a “safe space” for any girls who might regret how their “after prom” was going. One other young lady ended up with us.
@sseamom - I don’t know about the Vespa, it was a couple that had been dating since 9th grade so I am guessing it may have been an actual gift and who knows maybe mom & dad were in on the purchase?. I do know the parents of the kitten girl were not very happy as the boy had not consulted them about giving a kitten and now they are the proud grandparents of an unexpected (and I am told unwanted) pet.
You CAN buy just a tassel, or even the caps and gowns online. The ASB at D’s school tried to change the color of the gowns by a vote, but turns out the school has a contract with a (very expensive) vendor already. She had me researching prices, though, so I know you can buy tassels of every possible color-even 2 or 3 colors in one, and they are very inexpensive. You can also buy cute little key chain tassels, which I might get for D as she’ll be ready to get her license right around graduation time.
Ha! I was in one of those old fashioned long distance relationships before the internet. I knew the boy for only 5 months and then he returned home to his country where I proceeded to call him all the time and eventually packed my bags and showed up on his doorstep…
That was 20 years ago! Our oldest heads to college next year!
Oh, I forgot to mention that the big controversy (not really) in our county was the decision to have both boys and girls wearing the same color graduation gown. Historically, the guys wear one of the school colors and the gals wear white. There was an elaborate set up where guys and gals sit in alternating rows and are called up in batches, everything divided by sex. Well, what do you do if you are trans? What’s the deal with all the women in white, like they are virgin brides (not even one of the school colors)? Anyway, one benefit is now more people will be able to wear their sibling’s hand-me-down gowns. On the other hand, some gals are complaining about having to wear the less-than-flattering bright green that is the designated color. And some people are not happy that the tradition has been changed.
@labegg They can come to our house, we’ll be home (though we’re a Nintendo family, not XBox, and everyone is used to bringing their own controllers)
@LKnomad Wonderful story, so sweet…but you gave us the bare bones version…I want to hear more!
I remember long distance relationships (before the internet)… and one had to actually write letters (gasp!). Also, long distance calls were an option, but it cost per minute so we had to limit those!
@crowlady In our school, girls wear white and guys wear purple. But everyone sits in alphabetical order. I kinda like the way it looks. Besides our other school color is gold which isn’t too flattering.
Also, speaking of the internet…I just have to say that at times I think it is not a good thing (ie: easy access to social media, etc). We live in a small town and recently had a 2014 graduate pass away unexpectedly…very devastating to the family, our school community, and our community in general.
I would like to have had the option to talk to my kids first about this horrible tragedy (ie: call D14 who is away at college across the country, but who graduated with this kid - only about 110 kids in their graduating class)…but all my kids heard about it via text, facebook, etc… I just don’t think that social media access is a good thing in this type of situation.
Started my 1st college year off still dating a boy from my hometown.
@4kids2graduate - if you recall the long distance call charges varied by time. Cheapest was after 11pm. That was our time to talk a few minutes each evening. :)]
Well, that didn’t last to the second semester- lol
At D’s school, boys traditionally wear dark blue graduation caps and gowns, while girls wear light blue ones (both of these are school colors). However, there is really no restriction on which color someone wears, which is nice both for the LGBT kids and for families with kids in different years but of opposite sexes (assuming that the kids would go along with wearing the other color and they’re not radically different heights). Unfortunately, S12 went to a magnet school in our district which had dark green gowns, so D can’t reuse his.
@readingclaygirl, HAPPY BIRTHDAY…my best friend growing up is 51 today…
At my school the most elaborate way guys ask girls is with signs
Thank you! @Mysonsdad
DD finally checked her email and found out she’s been accepted into UCI and their honors program! Yay!
And happy birthday @readingclaygirl!
Was everyone who got accepted to UCI yesterday given a Regents? I had several students accepted today but there was not sign of Regents. Did they miss something?
@Mom2jl Congratulations!! I have always loved UCI, but S decided not to apply. I wish he had.
@bookmom7 Did the same thing. Tried the long distance relationship with my HS boyfriend, but it only lasted until spring break. We wrote letters and spoke on the phone only once a week due to cost. I wish my younger self would have known that it wouldn’t have worked out! Freshman year might have been more fun!
You know, reading about the LD relationships reminded me of a regular poster who’s been missing lately- NYdad something? Has anyone heard from him? I miss the stories about his D. He had talked about going undercover as he thought she’s found him on CC. Maybe he has a new name?
@sseamom I was wondering about NYDad513 the other day. I hope everything is okay with him and his daughter.
NYDad is now @DAPIStained I believe.