May 4, 2009 | Chickens in the Road

Archive for May 4th, 2009

May
4

It was prom night at our county high school this weekend. The rented tuxedo gear landed and we struggled to figure out how to put the whole get-up together.

We particularly struggled with the tie.

We don’t know how to tie a tie.

Little sister tried to help.

She wasn’t really any help. Neither was I.

We had to call for outside manly assistance.

Then there was even more trouble in tuxedo-land.

Ross had requested a shirt made for a regular suit tie but they gave him a shirt for a bow tie by mistake.

And we had a tie bought specifically to match his girlfriend’s dress and I’d ironed it and everything. (I never iron! I had to borrow an iron!)

52 saved the day, loaning him a white dress shirt. All was well in tuxedo-land again!

And off he went, dressed to the nines. I stalked him into town, following in my car.

I’m kidding! He gave me permission to follow him to pick up his girlfriend so I could take pictures.

I never stalk anyone. Unless they’re Nora Roberts.

They even let me write this blog post about them and previewed it. I’m having some of the photos printed and framed in a series as a gift to each of them.

Look! His girlfriend was actually ready when he arrived. She’s one in a million! We love her. She’s a beautiful girl and very smart. She’s going to study criminal justice and forensics in college.

There was the exchange of flowers–a wrist corsage for her, a lapel rose for him.

Behold, the perfectly matching tie that was worth the last-minute trauma.

It’s hard to believe that in a few weeks they will be high school graduates.

They dated on and off in 11th grade and for all of senior year. How much more adorable could they be? They are in love.

The kiss.

This is the look of a boy who loves his girlfriend. This is happiness. The kind of happiness that is ordinary splendor.

Can you look at these pictures and not feel the joy of life and love and youth?

Behold, my handsome boy.

And then away they went to the prom.

I had the eerie feeling I’d just witnessed the preview of the wedding. I could almost hear the cans tied to the bumper rattling as they drove away………..