Mother's Little Helper

This blog title and song is a little on the dramatic side but not by much. I mean, I don't really need a little yellow pill but, hey, the weekend is only beginning. The weekend, the time of the week that I look so forward to, has become a weekend of dizzy proportions! Yes....the weekend is here....the weekend of....drumroll...PROM.

In my ever changing moods, I never remember any of my proms being like this. It's our first prom so of course we are approaching it with that deer in the headlights look. The cheerleader has been to every homecoming dance. You buy the dress and shoes, you pick a place for dinner, you go and boogie, er, dance the night away. Prom...not so much. I missed the memo telling me that buying the prom dress (aka trip to Hades) would be the easy part!! And, the amount of cashola that goes into prom. I mean, how did I get by and preparing for my proms of the late 70s/early 80s on the 50.00 my mother gave me???? Poor Mr. Man looked like an ATM machine, this morning, as he was handing out cash and signing checks. His head looked like it might pop off. In all fairness, this is just always that time of year of school related expenses but they all fell on prom weekend, this year. Added to prom, there was also a tuition check for college courses the cheerleader is taking, cheer camp money due, cheer camp choreographer fee due, uniform fittings due....so, it all just sort of built up to one big volcanic explosion of cash.

Back to prom, though. The cheerleader is an involved gal and is on the prom committee. And, she volunteered Mr. Man and me to do all kinds of fun things, too. Get large tents, strobe lights, Christmas lights, the phone calls come fast and furious as to what they need, next. Also, most of the prom committee quit except for the cheerleader and one of her bffs. Hmmmmmm...could they not stand the total bossiness of the cheerleader at the helm? Anyway, I have a big truck loaded with tents, strobe lights, Christmas lights and other items. I am just waiting to get the next call. At that point, a UHaul may be needed to transport all items to the school.

We spent one entire afternoon and evening, this week, on prom related dress and beauty. We picked the dress up from being altered, got it home (a half hour drive) to find that the alteration lady from the store totally FORGOT to do the main alteration!!!! I called the store and I guess at that point, you are SOL. After they get their money for the dress and then FORCE you into their alteration lady, they don't care that the work wasn't done. Goodbye...have a great prom...GRRR. So, we were both on cell phones calling everyone we knew to try to find an alteration lady that could take us on short notice. Found one, she is about 80 years old, she whipped that dress into shape, took beads off by hand, hand sewed them back and made the top part of the dress exactly like the cheerleader wanted. It took her all of 6 hours. I LOVE THAT LADY!!!

During the dress fiasco and multiple phone calls, we bought hair extensions (?????) I was always fighting the volume of my hair at prom but I guess now, the more volume the better. I was ahead of my time at my proms. Who knew? Then there had to be special purchases made at the mall and we still have not had the nail appointment or the hair appointmet. That all happens, tomorrow. And, of course, all weekends leading up to this weekend have been sunny, mild, lovely. Tomorrow?? Rain, rain and more rain and high winds. This will send me out on a search for an umbrella in the perfect shade of her dress. I must remember the corsage. Hey, when did the corsage AND guy's flower fall on the girl? In the 80s, your date showed up with a hideous mum or carnation and you just hoped it stayed pinned on your dress. These corsages are now called...Specialty Corsages...Designed and made with love. It's a flower. Anyway, the cheerleader did say that dinner would be covered by prom date. WOOOHOOOO....lol. We are taking care of the limo. Prom Date is getting quite the deal.

But, it is the night that they all look forward to since they were freshmen. It's magical and mystical and they want to look beautiful and they are building memories. So, you stand and smile and smile and smile and then smile more. And run to the nearest store to get more prom decor to take to the school. Did I mention that I also have to stand in uniform line, too, this afternoon? Thankfully, being an incoming senior, that lets us move to the head of the class and first in line. Then, I am driving the big truck to the locale of the dance to help, er, supervise, the tent project.

So, maybe that mother's little helper is not so funny, after all...