Prom, 2017

*SQUEEEE!*  Prom!  We didn't think it would be part of our lives this year, but Glo's friend, Cole, ended up asking Glo to prom.

Cole gave Glo about ten days to get ready for prom.  Not ideal, but considering the other option was to not go at all, we were totally about making it work!

Cole and Glo have been "dating" since last fall.  They really are just really good friends who happen to love movies, television and animation, and so the best way to spend time together is to go to movies and the comic book store together.  They go out together at least once a week, and when they have a day off school, they spend it at each other's house.  There's never been any kind of hand holding or "breaking the touch barrier" at all, so saying they're "dating" is in the loosest way possible.  So the invitation kind of came out of nowhere.

In fact, Glo wasn't even going to say yes initially.  She's heard really bad things about prom from her older siblings, mostly about the bad music that is played and the skanky dresses that are worn by girls.  So, she asked Cole a question:  would he be up for going out to see Guardians of the Galaxy 2 later in the evening?  That way, if prom was a bust, they'd still end the evening on a good note.  And no surprise, he was totally down for it.

(And once again, I am so proud of my kids.  They always know how to think outside the box so that something ordinary becomes something really wonderful.)

When we drove to Michigan for Ethan's graduation, Rebecca, Glo and I headed to Twelve Oaks mall to find a dress.  We looked at Macy's, Nordstrom's and Lord & Taylor.  Macy's definitely had the largest selection, and in the end, Glo ended up choosing the second dress that she tried on.  It was a beauty!  Too, she knew she didn't want heels.  She's never worn heels and she knew she wouldn't feel comfortable in them.  So we got her a darling pair of velvet black sandals.

So, Friday night (the day before prom), Ethan, Rebecca, John, Glo and I were sitting around the kitchen table talking, and Ethan was trying to explain to Glo how hard it is to be a guy.  The whole getting-up-the-courage to ask a girl out is freaking nerve-wracking, so we were trying to help Glo understand how she could show Cole how much she appreciated him doing so.  Of course, in the back of my mind, I was still kind of wondering WHY he asked her.  Was it his mom telling him to do it?  Did he have friends who were going with dates, and he didn't want to be left out?

While taking about this, Glo tells us that several weeks ago, Cole said to her on one of their "dates", "So, we're together, right?" to which she responded, "Yeah, totally!"

HOLD. THE. PHONE. WHAT?!?!?

(In all honesty, I think Glo only told us this because Rebecca was at the table.)  Why Glo doesn't think to tell John and me this when we ask her how her dates were, I don't know.

Anyway, I knew then that Cole asked Glo to prom for the exact RIGHT reason:  because he LIKES her!

But goodness, he sure is shy to show her anything.

So, we knew he was going to have to break the touch barrier for prom (either taking pictures, or dancing), so Ethan, in true missionary form, had her role play trying to hold his hand (with Ethan standing in for Cole :-)) #onlythekennedys

And we told her all the things to say to let him know that she likes him too.

So, Saturday rolled around.  I sent Glo to Beyond Looks to get her hair done, but grrrrr, she got Hailey.  Hailey is great and all, but we've had bad experiences in the past with how loosey-goosey she does hair.  Glo didn't escape the loosey-goosiness unfortunately,  In fact, the curl was almost completely gone after two hours.  And it rained all afternoon, and since we were running errands, there wasn't much hope for her hair anyway!  But we also went to B&B Nails (all three of us women) and got pedis, and I convinced Glo to get a french manicure too.  Goodness, now anytime she does anything with her gorgeous hands, I turn a bright green shade....

We then ran to UEC over by the mall to pick up the tickets for Guardians, and the three of us ran into Macy's to get her a little wristlet to take with her.  After all, she needed to bring money for popcorn, and the movie tickets, and I wasn't having her bring them in her hobo Germany purse :-)  We found a darling Nine West clutch with a silver chain that she could wear across her body.

Too, I had seen that the weather was supposed to be in the 40s.  That's right--thank you, Pennsylvania, for bringing back the winter weather on prom Saturday.  So, before Ethan and Rebecca left Michigan, I had them run to Talbots at Briarwood mall for an XS black shrug that she could use if it was too cold.  (As it turned out, she wore it the entire night, so nobody got to see the gorgeous sleeveless dress she was wearing....)

I curled Glo's hair all over again.  Cole was coming by at 6:30, and no joke, we were ALL a bundle of nerves.  In fact, we practiced who would be where when he arrived, and what role we would all play.  I was supposed to take pictures, but I was so freaking nervous that I had to pitch most of the photos.  (It makes me appreciate that I shouldn't be the photographer for big days for my kids--I can't keep a clear head when I'm nervous :-))

We knew he was going all out (he asked her what color her dress was so he could buy the correct color vest), so that was really special.  When he finally showed up, he looked even nicer than anything that any of us expected.  Cole isn't the handsomest dude, but even Mark admitted that he cleaned up really well!  And he didn't spare any expense--he looked so perfect for the occasion.

I didn't notice it, but everyone else did.  I guess Cole was shaking like a leaf.  Rebecca and John saw it when he was putting the corsage on her wrist, and Glo said his whole body was shaking when she took his arm for pictures.  It was so sweet though.  John was actually emotional talking about it afterwards--there's just something that John and I appreciate about him, going through all that nervousness to make a really special night for both him and Glo.

We actually didn't have a lot of time for pictures, because it was starting to rain again.  And goodness, it was cold.  However, Glo broke the touch barrier when she took his arm, and he opened the car door for her when they left. #sosweet

It also happened to be Free Comic Book Day.  How perfect to have the GOTG comic book on its opening weekend!

Okay, so the rest is what Glo told me.  

So, they drove to the Penn Stater for prom, and as soon as Cole closed the door and they started to walk in, he grabbed her hand, and he DIDN'T LET GO FOR 30 MINUTES!  *squee!*  How cute is that????  So, he basically got to walk around to all of their friends, holding Glo's hand.  And honestly, I'm not surprised because Glo looked like a queen.  I have no doubt that he had a crazy sense of pride, walking into prom with her hand in his.  And he actually danced!  Not anything like the Kennedys, but he danced.  Prom though didn't disappoint with its rap songs and dirty lyrics.  Glo said she knew five of the songs in 90 minutes.  #disappointment

So then, they headed off to the movie.  Glo said people were staring at them, but some of the older women asked her about her dress (and date) and they thought it was adorable that she was at a movie as a post-prom date <3

And then, when they got back home, Cole walked her up to the door....although it was locked #stale.  So, he walked her back around to the man door, and she gave him a hug.  

As you can probably imagine, he set up another date with her for this week :-)

And the next day (Sunday), Glo wore her dress and corsage to church.  I'm not sure she would have done it if I had suggested it, but Rebecca did, so she did.  And golly, she looked just as beautiful.