We, He, I Survived

Thankfully, prom is over. We only have to do it three more times since there won't be any overlapping years with both kids attending. Have any idea how much it cost to rent a tux these days? $134.

Why, just 20 years ago, tuxes were only about $50. Yeah, only 20 years ago.

The days leading up to prom were tense for me.

It might have been that I was concerned about turning over my car, the one with the $500 insurance deductible, to my teen driver for prom night. I might have been slightly worried about him out driving around all hours of the night. When I was 17, 17 seemed so old, worldly, and mature. Now that my son is 17, 17 seems so young and inexperienced.

He went with a friend of his. A nice girl with a great sense of humor, and cute, too.

He sent me a text from the formal portion of prom to let me know he was having a great time. Then more texts followed - did I pack him shoes for the after party at the school? Did I remember to put in some "pit juice" because he was sweating?

Mom had everything under control. Because that's what moms do, of course.

Then about 15 minutes into the after prom party at the school, I get another text from him. It went something like this, "I think I might have a broken nose. I got kicked by a friend playing a game. It bled a lot, but Jake's mom's a doctor and she thinks I'll be okay because I can breathe."

When he got home around 2:15, he was bruised and swollen, and looked like he was a totally different nationality besides "white boy." I tried not to get too worked up about it. But man, there was a lot of blood on the shirt he'd been wearing. I also felt bad because he'd been having a good time up until getting kicked in the snoot. After that, he was bleeding and his face was throbbing. Poor guy.

This morning, I had to return his tux by noon. I stood waiting for confirmation that everything was there when an old guy walked in behind me carrying a tux. He was likely someone's grandpa, if not great-grandpa. One of the other employees greeted him and said to the older gentleman, "I can tell by the smile on your face that you had a wonderful time at the prom."

I don't know why this amused me so, but I giggled. Every time I've thought of it since then, I've giggled. It truly made my morning.

I'm not used to getting up and being out and about by 9 a.m. Granted, I'm getting up and taking my son to school at 6:30 every day, but I come home and don't deal with the public much before 11 if I have to run errands.

I had to stop by the bank first. Something got flucked up when my son made his deposit on Sat. It turned out that another guy with the same name ended up $196 richer for a few days. (In the meantime, I was franctically transferring funds from our checking to our son's to cover his prom expenses.)

The doors were still locked when I arrived at the bank. An older gentleman waiting to get in bid me a "good morning." By 9:01, the bank was bustling with customers. And the thing is, everyone seemed cheerful, happy, and friendly. Instead of grumping and bitching at the teller, I was patient and understanding. She thanked me for being nice about the mistake. And I do have to wonder...if I'd gone later on in the day, would my disposition and hers as well be as congenial?

I stopped by CVS to drop off my son's disposable camera to get developed. Everyone there seemed fresh, alert, and ready to face the day. Then it was off to the grocery. Same goes for everyone I saw there. They were eager to assist, chitchat, and wait on me.

They, whoever they are, say that if you smile at someone, you never know what sort of impact you'll have. Maybe you'll make their day, they'll smile at someone else, and before you know it, there's a whole string of events with a bunch of happy people who have had their spirits lifted.

I believe it. Because when I came home, I got to thinking about how great my son's and his date's corsages looked. I was concerned because I didn't know what color of blue her dress was exactly when I ordered the flowers. As luck would have it, they looked wonderful and the ribbon and rhinestones matched her dress wonderfully.

I picked up the phone, called the florist, and let her know how pleased I was. I sent off a couple emails letting a few friends know I was thinking about them since it had been a while since I'd heard from them.

I can be a grumpy, bitchy shrew as much as the next, but I'm telling you, this whole paying it forward with a smile or kind words really can make all the difference in a Monday morning. Try it.