Prom. I know most people reading this blog are literal years away from worrying about any sort of thing close to a prom. Most people reading this blog are more concerned with naps, onesies, and table food, but one day you’ll wake up and that baby that just spit up on you will be negotiating what type of dress/tux they want to get.
I was fortunate enough to go to 2 proms and have had the fortune of helping 3 kids plan for theirs as recently as this weekend. This weekend was extremely interesting for us as first off they were actually having a prom in the middle of a pandemic. Besides that astounding act of confidence in the face of a disease (and the fortune that my son and his group have all been fully vaccinated and were mask adherents), my son’s rental tux was somehow not shipped from the warehouse forcing some improvisation. Mercifully my son had a suit that was too big for him 3 years ago but just happened to fit like a glove. A great thing that he grew up and not out! The hair salon that one of the members of his prom party went to caught fire mid-way through her getting her hair done, so she was a no-show to pictures or dinner. And finally, it was decided last minute that instead of taking an Uber Black (flossy, flossy) that one of the kids would drive their new car. All in all disaster (and for teens, all of this was the end of the world, pandemic be damned) was averted at every corner. It will certainly make for a nice story for my son to tell his offspring one day, or for me and my wife to tell his kids or his 5-year-old brother in about 13 years when he is trying to book an Uber Flyer (flossy, flossy).
Every prom is different and hopefully has a special place in the memories of all who were involved. Even this weekend, after our son was gone and crisis 1 through 15 was averted, my wife and I sat down, opened up a bottle of red (or a bottle of white; whatever kind of mood we were in that night), raised a glass and toasted to a job done. (Not necessarily done “well,” but done nonetheless.) We actually have done this little ritual after each kid’s prom. Our parents probably did the same thing. The record of that ritual, however, is gone. Forgotten until you do it again.
There are other instances in life like this. There is the first time your kid drives somewhere on their own. Their first date. The first day of school. The last day of school. And even things some of us are not as in tune with like the first time a young girl becomes a young woman. (Menstruation… a girls period, guys. I told you some of us aren’t necessarily in tune with EVERYTHING.) These are all things that parents should if not celebrate at least mark the occasion. Sometimes we do, sometimes we don’t, but in a society so driven by recording every mundane thing, should we not chronicle these actual important milestones?
The moments you actually may have a picture of or a specific memory of but don’t have somewhere to put it. It’s why we at Quality Random are looking for those moments, the lost moments, you believe have been special in your life or your kid's life. We are looking to compile these events or moments to create something that would be an all-encompassing memory journal for kids and parents, a kind of reverse-engineered baby book.
Maybe your kid is graduating this year and you are going through pictures of them when you come across a picture of when they lost their first tooth. We are thinking a great graduation gift from you may be all of these little moments and pictures in one cool book for them to look through. Something they can keep and share with their children to show them what moments have made them uniquely them. Maybe you are going through your own life and want to compile something to show your kids or grandkids who you are, where you have come from, and the moments that have made you uniquely you.
Comment below on your “lost moments” that you think would be a great addition.
Thanks for reading and for participating and as always… CHEERS!
