The Geo Metro didn't make an appearance for this important evening. My cousin's Isuzu Rodeo did. Hey, I thought it was a great ride. Who knew that everyone else in a small farm town had connections to someone with a luxury car. Maybe the reason for a Junior Prom is to give you practice so you can get everything right for Senior Prom. My prom date, for instance, was looking forward to when it was her turn to buy a dress that fit her better, since she was wearing her older sister's from a previous year.
A formal evening together was a little awkward at first, but moving from one thing to the next helped with conversation. My youngest brother (about age 7) made the funniest, most memorable, and probably the best compliment of the evening. The first thing he shouted out loud and clear to my date when we walked into my home was "you sure have nice teeth." She did have a nice smile--very photogenic. It was funny to hear her laugh as she politely thanked him.
It was actually fun to dress up for something, to look nice, and to act the part. I felt like a real gentleman opening her door, helping her with her coat, and into her seat at the table, dancing, and genuinely trying to be polite all around. But I'm sure both of our lack of dating experience showed, in fact I remember laughing about that very thing. After prom was a little more relaxing and the high school put on a good party for it. The best thing about my date is the values we shared. We both respected each other. We had a mutual trust that allowed us to be more comfortable than others were that night. We knew that neither of us would act out of character. Getting drunk and sleeping around wasn't in our nature normally, so prom would be no exception, and we didn't have to worry about ruining our friendship.
When I couldn't readily find a date of my choosing, I declined the expense of going with the same girl to Senior Prom when she asked me over the phone the next year, but I was glad I had gone with her to Junior Prom and had an enjoyable experience overall.
Monday, August 30, 2010
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
My First Date: getting after prom tee-shirts
The nicest girl, with the nicest smile asked me out for Junior Prom. I know, I know, and if you knew how many hints she had dropped, you especially might think it should have been me asking her out. Forget how much I liked her friend, the bait, who waited until the last moment to reveal her newly acquired boyfriend and would-be prom date.
More than me being shy about asking a girl out, the reality is that I thought I needed to like a girl in a certain way, and know that the girl liked me in that same way, before I would ask her out. This wasn't a pre-requisite, however, taken by my prom date. Maybe she thought my advances toward her friend really were for her.
At any rate, she jokingly asked me out in the lunch line with a bunch of mutual friends around us, which took me by surprise. I didn't really know if she was being serious. She gave a hypothetical that if neither of us had dates for prom we should just go together. I sloughed it off at first, telling her something about how I was going to start looking for a date for Senior Prom. I embarrassingly, have to admit, that it took her twin brother telling me that she was serious, for me to realize how I might be really hurting someone. I walked up behind her at her locker at the soonest opportunity and whispered, "I guess I need to find out where you live, so I can take you to prom," which elicited a big yell of excitement and a hug.
Maybe my first date ever was meant to be with just a friend. I was comfortable enough, after all. I was ready to have a fun time. She, on the other hand, was a little more nervous trying to make a good impression, and not her typical chatty self. We were just getting after prom tee-shirts on this day, so that was going to be easy enough.
The two main things I remember from the date:
1) The key to the geo metro I was driving was broken off in the ignition. My family always stuck the half key in to start the car so know one would suspect anything, but a screwdriver could have worked just as well. When we went over railroad tracks the key popped out next to her feet. She screamed. And I calmly asked her if she could give me my keys back, though as long as I didn't stall the car it was running just fine. We had a good laugh over that and my family's secret was out.
2) Guys can't shop in the girls section for tee-shirts but girls can wear guys tee-shirts so we saw a lot of shirts that I liked, but none she was too crazy about. She is a really caring girl because she saw how much I liked a particular soccer shirt and then insisted that we get those shirts.
Looking back, I wish I would have insisted that we spend more time finding a shirt she would also want to wear in the future.
More than me being shy about asking a girl out, the reality is that I thought I needed to like a girl in a certain way, and know that the girl liked me in that same way, before I would ask her out. This wasn't a pre-requisite, however, taken by my prom date. Maybe she thought my advances toward her friend really were for her.
At any rate, she jokingly asked me out in the lunch line with a bunch of mutual friends around us, which took me by surprise. I didn't really know if she was being serious. She gave a hypothetical that if neither of us had dates for prom we should just go together. I sloughed it off at first, telling her something about how I was going to start looking for a date for Senior Prom. I embarrassingly, have to admit, that it took her twin brother telling me that she was serious, for me to realize how I might be really hurting someone. I walked up behind her at her locker at the soonest opportunity and whispered, "I guess I need to find out where you live, so I can take you to prom," which elicited a big yell of excitement and a hug.
Maybe my first date ever was meant to be with just a friend. I was comfortable enough, after all. I was ready to have a fun time. She, on the other hand, was a little more nervous trying to make a good impression, and not her typical chatty self. We were just getting after prom tee-shirts on this day, so that was going to be easy enough.
The two main things I remember from the date:
1) The key to the geo metro I was driving was broken off in the ignition. My family always stuck the half key in to start the car so know one would suspect anything, but a screwdriver could have worked just as well. When we went over railroad tracks the key popped out next to her feet. She screamed. And I calmly asked her if she could give me my keys back, though as long as I didn't stall the car it was running just fine. We had a good laugh over that and my family's secret was out.
2) Guys can't shop in the girls section for tee-shirts but girls can wear guys tee-shirts so we saw a lot of shirts that I liked, but none she was too crazy about. She is a really caring girl because she saw how much I liked a particular soccer shirt and then insisted that we get those shirts.
Looking back, I wish I would have insisted that we spend more time finding a shirt she would also want to wear in the future.
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