There are certain milestones that we wait for—eagerly awaiting getting our permit, our first date, homecoming and…PROM!
If you’re anything like me, you fantasized from a young age about your dress, the shoes, and dancing all night, losing your glass slipper, and magically becoming a princess…all in a night’s work. It all seems so magical, a true fairytale, as you’re surrounded by all your closest friends and a prince to sweep you off your feet!
My dreams of prom followed me to high school as I watched my older cousins go off on their dream nights, relishing in their excitement eagerly awaiting my turn. Then my time finally came. I picked out my dress, I ate super healthy for months to lose a few pounds and had hair, make-up, and nails all lined up. Pictures covered my walls of my dream look.
My date had his tux all rented and a limo lined up to bring us to prom in style.
My dreams were coming true.
Then it happened, I woke up the day of prom with a raging fever and could barely move. Body aches. Congestion that had me sounding like I belonged on an episode of The Muppets.
All my dreams, the dress hanging on my door that fit so perfectly after all the exercise and hard work, came crashing down.
“Sorry, you have mono. You’re highly contagious. Prom is a no-go.”
Tears streamed down my face as I realized prom just wasn’t going to happen. Money for deposits was nonrefundable, as were our tickets to prom that sat on my kitchen table, the glitter taunting me all week.
I remember flopping on my bed and crying for hours, as my phone buzzed with messages and pictures from friends living out their prom dreams.
A ring at my door roused me from my feverish sleep and I was greeted with soup, flowers, and my boyfriend.
He had taken three public buses to come to my house, three towns over, to bring me soup and flowers. While it wasn’t prom, there was something romantic about that gesture.
He didn’t stay, but with a blow of a kiss from me, I watched him walk back to the bus stop and make his trek back home.
It could have been my feverish state, but in that moment, I felt like the luckiest girl in the world. All my friends’ pictures, their “after” parties and late night Ihop runs had nothing on my flowers and canned soup.
I may not have had my magical night, but I had my prince.
Our hopes and dreams sometimes can take us over. Us begging and pleading for them to become a reality. They don’t always come to fruition or look exactly the way we imagined, causing disappointment and heartache.
There may have been no dancing. No laughing and causing trouble well into the night, but there would always be the memory of the boy who took three buses to bring me soup and flowers on prom night. And to me, that is greater than any fancy dresses and limo ride.
It reminds me that even in the face of disappointment, there can be goodness, kindness, and love.
