The Road Less Traveled....

A friend at work showed me pictures of her son the other day.  He's about Babygirl's age, and he's a wonderful boy. He's kind, generous (he's the one who passed on his 'guys' to LittleMan so many years ago because he knew we only had 'girl toys' at our house!) and well-mannered.  He's a natural athelete who once actually managed to make a hole-in-one at a PGA golf course.

The pictures were ordinary enough:  Handsome young man, suit and tie, lovely young lady, formal dress, all decked out for a school dance.

It tore my heart.

Citygirl was a social butterfly and attended so many formal dances at so many different schools that I cut her off budgetarily in terms of new formal dresses. She learned to shop on the internet and switch up with friends and I have a million pictures of her in the most astonishing dresses, surrounded by beautiful girlfriends all trying (in my humble opinion, of course!) to look as lovely as she.

JuJuBee had no real interest in such goings-on.  She and her beloved were once voted prom King and Queen on a mission trip, and they nearly died of embarrassment.  It was typical of her quiet personality that this was NOT as funny to her as it was to those of us who had stuffed the ballot box.

Curlygirl went to her Senior Prom, and because it was almost the only dance she'd ever wanted to go to we went all-out on the dress.  She was lovely.

But.....Babygirl.

She is walking, and not by choice, the road less traveled.  Before her illness she was not an extremely outgoing child, but she would go with Youth Group and have sleepovers and invite friends in. She wasn't a 'girly girl' who paid a lot of attention to fashion or makeup, but she was only 11 when she got sick. Who knows, if illness had not intervened, what type of social life would have developed for her?

She is attending school online.  If asked, she says that she is happy with her social life.

But.

I've seen her dressed up for her sister's wedding, dancing and having a wonderful time.  I think it's not likely, however, that I'm going to see her in a prom dress with an updo going to a school dance.  And if it were her choice, like JuJu's, not to go, I'd be fine with that.  It just tears me to think that the choice has been taken from her.

DeeDee