Prom day

And, it really took all day...if you include my recovery nap.  So, this entire day was scheduled by Syd.  We made her do that.  She found the places she wanted to go and she called and scheduled her own appointments.  It gave her a sense of ownership over the day.  And, she really did own it.  We were watching Cinderella before we left.  Prosaic.  We were at the point where the fairy godmother dresses little Cindy and makes up the coach and team.  She makes a footman out of a lizard and they call him Mr Lizard.  For the day, I was Mr Lizard. 

 

It started at 9am when we showed up at the first salon, without an appointment because we didn't decide we wanted a haircut until the last minute.  There's only one stylist there and he's outside smoking.  "He looks sketchy."  And, me, trying to be encouraging says "yes, but he could be a very talented hair stylist."  And, she sat there.  She just wasn't getting out.  So, I said, "wanna stay or go?" and she said "go" and it dropped the prius in reverse and we left sketchy guy in our rearview mirror. 

I pulled out my good clothes that morning and realized that I didn't have a dress shirt anymore, so I told her I needed to take care of that one thing for myself.  While I shopped in Goodwill (yes, I got a fantastic practically new white Arrow dress shirt for $6) she got on her phone and found another salon and called and got the price and found out she could walk in and we pushed the power button on the prius and got there before every other girl going to prom in South Austin...well, all but one, and she was getting a weave and was going to be there all day...sheesh, what must that cost???   That little accident resulted in her finding a new salon and a new permanent hairdresser.  She enjoyed the lady playing with her hair as much as the lady enjoyed playing with it and they must have hit it off cause I could hear them chatting over my earbuds...yes, this dad brought music and a book.

Next, jewelry.  One thing I learned, I can pull things out and look at them and she notices that and will come look with me.  But, don't try to show it to her because then it's the most horrible ugly thing that was ever crafted at the hand of man.  Next,  a nail salon in the same center and I read and listened to music and tried not to curl my nose up at the smell.  And, I smiled.  A LOT!  A guy did her nails and she really seemed to enjoy talking to him and he was very engaging with her, too.  Without being flirty. 

Next, a nice sandwich, and then the big salon.  You can see the name she used on her lunch order. 

We have a three hour appointment scheduled here.  We'd talked the day before and I asked what I was supposed to do...originally, I was supposed to drop off and pick up, but I asked if she wanted me to come in with her until the appointment started, or just til she was checked in...or did she just want to show me some hand signal that meant I was free to go.  But, at the last minute, she decided that no, I should stay.  And, I stayed for almost the whole two and a half hours.  Holy cow.  But, honestly, if I'd left and not seen the progress, I'm not sure I would have recognized her when I came back to get her.  She got a LOT of looks as we left the salon. 

I very carefully and gently talked her out of the tiara.  It ruined the whole effect.  It was all I saw when I looked at her.  And, when she got home and took it off, she looked perfect!

And, then we rested.  We all rested.  Because we all knew it was going to be a big night. 

nd, then, we took her to a nice restaurant downtown.  We didn't think about it in advance, but the place was packed with prom couples.  We walked in and there were three girls waiting at the door for other couples and the girls and the boys all stared when Syd walked in the room.  We saw a LOT of prom dresses that night.  And, lots of very beautiful young ladies.  And, without any prejudice, I can say Sydney looked as good as any of them.  And, she carried herself well, with elegance and grace.  But, you could tell just by looking at her that she knew how good she looked.  It was that confidence that really showed through.  And, where we saw a lot of girls that didn't know how to walk in a long dress and did it badly, Sydney knew how...well, we'd done a little coaching. 

After dinner, we took her to the venue and dropped her off.  She didn't want me to walk her in.  And, then Rob and I stopped for a celebratory cocktail and went home to change into short pants and wait.  At the stroke of midnight, the coach and footmen arrived to pick her up.  We saw her come out with her friends.  We knew she had a good time.  But, she couldn't tell us about it.  And, was kind of rude, which put me on edge, but I held onto it.  We didn't push.  And, yesterday, we just really didn't make the opportunity available for her to talk.  So, I'm expecting she's going to be bursting with stories today.  Sometimes, you just gotta wait for the good stuff. 

 

I found out on Saturday what really happened to her plans.  Girls can be so mean.  The seven invited an eighth and she decided she didn't want to go if Sydney went, so they "uninvited" Syd.  The girl said for Syd not to worry about Saturday night because the girl was going to look so much better than Syd.  We saw the girls prom photo.  First, girl, pink ain't your color.  And, you were way too wide for that ballgown.  It made you look like a big squishy hairy pink marshmallow with cheap glasses.  I won't let Syd say that, but I can.  When Syd was walking away from the car, I said, "hey, Syd?" and she looked at me over her shoulder "you're wearing the best revenge ever."  And, she said "I know" as she turned and straightened her shoulders and held her head high and walked in the place. 

And, then it was over and she had to work all day yesterday and we spent the day catching up on our own weekends.  We had lunch with our friend LD and called our mothers.  And, Rob took a LONG nap.  I did some comfort cooking. 

And, all was right with the world again.

I feel sorry for all the dads that miss this special day.  I think they'd really have a great insight into their daughters if they could just watch as they were transformed from one person to another over the course of a day.  Just getting to watch other people look at your child with admiration...the ladies in the salon that told her how beautiful she was as we hunted down a lipstick and paid and left.  To get to see her beam under that kind of compliment is wonderful. 

Everybody have a great week.  I'm still not recovered and worry that I might accidentally fall asleep during the day. 

Lane