Two Proms, a Plaque, and a Parade for Chris

PROM #1--PRETTY IN PINK


OK. So a few months ago, Chris asked his lab partner in Physics to Prom. Her name is Erin and she is adorable. She and Chris also sit next to each other in band--she is 1st chair, he is 2nd. They are just good friends so it was not a high pressure situation. Erin is a fun girl who would yell "Hey Prom Date!" when they passed each other in the hall. They went with two other couples and had a fancy dinner at a friend's house. Chris borrowed Grandma and Grandpa's big plushy car to drive which apparently went over well. Being our first prom (well, in quite some time), we learned a few things. We shall share them for the benefit of future prom-goers:

1. The vest is an essential part of a tuxedo. I, obviously born under a rock in an ancient day, did not know this when I purchased a very nice looking and happily priced tuxedo online from Penneys. The vest issue apparently came up in conversation at school two days before prom. Chris informed me that EVERYONE had a vest. I even checked a few savvy teen prom websites and found this to be accurate. When I mentioned the dilemma to a few friends, they looked shocked and said, "He doesn't have a VEST?" Clearly, we needed a vest. Just so you know, nobody rents "just the vest" --especially not two days before prom. The mere suggestion of such a thing is laughable---you know why? Because EVERYONE else already has a vest. Who knew? (EVERYONE, duh.) So with time ticking away, I am running about trying to buy "just a vest" that matched/complemented the fabric of the tuxedo. At one point I even considered making one, but thankfully I found success in Manassas at the Men's Wearhouse (so clever). "Just a vest" cost half as much as the entire rest of Christopher's ensemble, including shoes, but I was happy to pay it. Chris really likes his vest.


2. Pink is a very hot color this year for prom. Not just for girls, but for, you guessed it --VESTS. And ties. Erin's favorite color is pink, thus her dress was pink, and she was hoping Chris had a pink vest (which is how the whole vest conversation began in the first place). Chris flat out refused to wear a pink vest (thank goodness), but conceded on the bow tie and I made a little pink handkerchief thing (what are those called again?) for his pocket. He looked very sharp. We especially like the picture with the pink sunglasses they took at the dinner.
3. Corsages are very expensive. When Chris went into the "popular" florist shop in town, he told the guy that his date's dress was pink, but she didn't want pink flowers because that would be "too much pink." He had called me on the cell phone before he went in and asked me for some "names of flowers", meaning kinds of. I found this amusing and tried quickly to explain the difference between a daisy and a carnation and what in the heck baby's breath was. Anyway, Chris said the flower dude spouted off names of flowers that I hadn't covered so Chris thought that was cool. But when the guy said it would cost $70 dollars that was not cool. Good grief, we could have bought Erin her own vest for that! In the end, he ended up with a $40 corsage with not so exotic, but ever popular white roses. Still, wow. Chris also learned that it is not necessarily good date manners to tell the girl how much you could have spent as opposed to how much you did spend on her corsage. These are all valuable lessons of life to learn. He is adding that to his list of not asking a girl how much she weighs (another mistake learned along the way--who is this boy's mother?)


4. School dances are different than church dances. Chris was somewhat appalled at some of the dancing that was going on and assumed the responsibility to "teach" the wayward youth of CCHS such Stake dance favorites as "the Chicken dance", "the Lawnmower", and "the Shopping Cart." While these are not ususally performed to rap music, since that was the only music that was being played at this event, Chris found a way. We are still laughing over the fact that kids are writing in his yearbook what a great dancer he is.

In all, Chris was glad he went, although some of the time he said he felt more like a chaperone to the group he was with. He also learned that girls can get very giggly and silly--something about cow noises and milkshakes at IHOP during the post prom gathering. Ah youth.


PROM #2 --THREE'S COMPANY
The second prom was the "Mormon Prom." For this one, Chris asked his long time friend Madeleine (the bishop's daughter.) He used the fact that he was the only boy in the ward with a tux as big selling point here. (Never mind that he is also the only boy in the ward who actually goes to public school and thus the only one with any use for a tuxedo.) This prom was more relaxing than the first. One, because we had neither the vest, nor the pink issues to deal with. Two, because he discovered Madeleine's mom works at a florist shop and she customized the corsage to match Madeleine's dress for a great price. And three, because the girls' dresses and the dancing and the music were all much more in line with Chris' comfort zone. He still ended up feeling like a chaperone though, as he and Madeleine had planned a double date but the other girl bailed last minute. This left Chris, Madeleine, and poor Stefan going to out to dinner together. Good natured Christopher is used to these kind of bizarre things happening to him, so he just took it all in stride and had a good time anyway. He actually wrote up a humorous description of the whole thing which will have to be a separate entry.

THE PLAQUE

We were excited to attend Christopher's final band concert. (Jeffrey is also in the band, but that will come in a future blog entry). It was great and featured Chris (and Erin) in a quintet with the Wind Ensemble. At the end of the concert, there are senior awards handed out. These awards are voted on by the other band members. Chris was totally surprised to receive the Louis Armstrong Jazz Award for his musicianship, dedication, and enthusiasm as the pianist for the Jazz Band. He was later told by a friend that it was a unanimous vote. This was really exciting for Chris and we were so proud of him! His famous name will be emblazoned on the plaque for future band members to marvel over for generations to come.



THE PARADE
A few days later, we got to see Chris and Jeffrey march in the annual Culpeper Memorial Day Fireman's parade. Basically to qualify for involvement in the parade you must A) live in Culpeper and B) own a truck. There are a few fire trucks and usually a some goats thrown in for interest and color. This year, however, the parade featured 5 bagpipers, an antique John Deere tractor, the entire population of the Culpeper Animal Shelter (who unfortunately left many "presents" in the road just prior to the Tiny Tot division of the Culpeper Baton Twirlers marching through), and a 4 door brown sedan with two old ladies in the front seat. They were actively engaged in conversation, and seemed somewhat unaware that they were driving in the middle of the parade. Perhaps they were former Tiny Tot Twirlers or honorary SPCA members or something...It was definitely an "only in Culpeper" moment. The highlight of course was our own CCHS Virginia Honor Band "The Marching Blue Devils." Naturally, by the time they passed by us, they had just finished playing. But, way to hold that saxophone Chris! We love you! Next big event:

GRADUATION! (June 14)