Prom 2014

Will told me over and over again for MONTHS that he wasn't interested in Prom.  I stopped bringing it up because he would just roll his eyes and walk away.

So, imagine my surprise when I received this text conversation from him last Wednesday;

Will: Hey I'm going to Prom :P
Me:  WHAT?! Cool! With whom? Also, home soon?
Will: I'm getting fitted for a suit.
Me: Holy crapinoly!  Awesome, love you!

Keep in mind, Prom was in THREE DAYS.

It turns out that he and Brenna were talking (for those of you not in the know, Brenna was Will's girlfriend last summer, but they broke up last fall), and they both discovered that neither of them was going to prom.  So, they decided to go together.  They doubled with Brenna's friend and her date.

Will was bemused at how much we reacted to the news.  But, really.  After months and months of saying "No", this sudden whirlwind of three days of Prom prep was pretty amazing!  He took care of all of the arrangements himself, and paid for all of it himself.  He rented the tux, picked it up, and presumably returned it today.  He got her corsage and the prom tickets.

I have to say, he looked AMAZING in his tux!  The short jacket with long tails look great on his trim figure.  It was also a perfect match to Brenna's dress.  They looked very happy and seemed to have a great time.  It would now appear that Will and Brenna are back together.

I'm very happy, too.  I wanted him to go to prom so much!  It is an event that only happens at this point in life, and it would be a shame to miss out on the experience.  Maybe I am projecting my own youth, since I was never asked to prom, or any other school dance, for that matter.  I always wanted to go, but never got the chance.  It was hard for me to have my son say he didn't want to go.  However, I reconciled the fact that it was his choice.  It's not like he wanted to and never had the opportunity.

Still, I'm very happy they had a good time!  Now, just 5 more weeks until graduation, and only 9 weeks until he ships out for Basic Training!  Ahhhh!

Not so Utopian

Why have I been missing in action for so long, you ask?







I shut down when life turns difficult.  The more difficult, the more I retreat.  From this record, anyways.

Things have been hard around here.  Really hard.  Struggles and difficulties that I can't talk about because they are not my tales to tell.  It is not my job to tell all the stories of the world.  Or even all the stories in the family.  I can only tell mine, and the stories of others when they are positive and upbeat.  But when the stories are not upbeat, when the road is rocky, I'm not going to share.  Not even when the stories ARE mine, actually.  Since I can't just go on writing breezy, lighthearted posts when my heartstrings are being plucked, I will remain silent.

It used to be that I wrote in hardbound journals, and I would write EVERYTHING.  For years I did that.  The good and the bad.  And then I discovered something.  When I was feeling happy and looked back through the journals, I saw the good and it confirmed my good mood.  But I also saw the bad, and it brought me down.  Total buzz kill.  When I was feeling down, I'd look back through the journals and ONLY see the bad... confirming my black mood.

So writing about bad times, for me, is a double negative.  Which in this case (unlike in math) does NOT equate to a positive.

So, no.  It's not just the online nature of this journal.  It is a life lesson.  Don't immortalize the negative moments of life.  Don't afford them that honor.  I'm not saying ignore them in the moment.  Bad times happen to everyone, and they need to be dealt with in a healthy way.  For me, writing them down is not a healthy way to deal with them.

I know many would disagree with me.  They might say that getting the thoughts out of my head and verbalizing them would be cathartic.  That without sharing, there can be no healing help from others.  Or even that I create an unrealistically utopian view of my life by editing out the negative.  Please understand.  I am not being completely silent.  I am getting the help needed in the moment.  In real time, real face-to-face interactions with people around me.  I'm not depressed or in danger of becoming so.  I am simply not willing to look back to this point in my life and have anger, frustration, or worry be the permanent record.

Anyways, that is why the hiatus.  Time will smooth the road out, and I will return to my breezy posts and light filled reports of all things wonderful.  My "utopian" record.  ;)