DISCLAIMER: I am not a mother of teenagers yet, (praise the Lord), and so I am writing from no point of reference other than my own life as a teenager, which I have largely blocked from my memory.
That being said, here's the story:
An acquaintance of mine (who has given me the go-ahead to tell her story so long as I do not reveal her name...and, no, it's no one you know), has three children: a daughter and son in college, and one important daughter who not only just graduated from high school, but who also serves as the subject of this very true story.
The aforementioned daughter is beautiful, popular, successful in school, and even manages to stay out of trouble (and, despite what you might be presuming, she does not require batteries). Her hard work and various committments had even earned her acceptance into a very competitive school with a nice, fat scholarship to boot. Her future is bright.
But then.....with the last few days of school trickling by, she kind of messed up.
Just a little.
Or, not so little, though her mother would not divulge the details of her dastardly deed....leading me to imagine all sorts of scenarios that I never would have managed to get myself into at her age (shout out to my Mom and Dad). Anyway, it must have been a whopper since her parents bestowed on her a strict grounding for an entire month: no car, no phone, no social life whatsoever.
The lesson began May 1st and it would be a tough one.
However, it turned out to be far tougher than even her parents anticipated for the month long grounding included May 29th, the day of her prom.
That's right, so bad was her crime that she was not allowed to attend her senior prom or any of the raucous festivities that predictably follow it. She was devastated, but her parents were bold enough to make a point that many parents would not be able to.
Good for them.
But, it doesn't end there. Are you ready for this?
Her prohibited phone rang the entire night of May 29th with calls from friends that were no doubt calling to update the detained damsel on all that she was missing. For once, she was glad she wasn't allowed to answer, so sad was she for having missed what some consider a high school milestone.
It wasn't until the next morning, however, that the reason for the calls would reveal itself.
As she and her parents enjoyed a Saturday morning breakfast together, the house phone rang with a call from her best friend who was desperate to speak with her.
What prompted the desperation?
It seems that the grounded girl not only missed her prom, but also the rather rare designation of being crowned prom queen.
It was instead given to the runner-up, who danced with her would-be date.
Oh. my. goodness.
As mother and daughter cried in disbelief, the father only said what every father would, "Well, I bet you learned your lesson."
Thoughts????
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4 comments:
Better parents than I, I suppose; I couldn't deny that memory to my girls. Though it would likely crush my credibility, I would find a way to let mine go... offer her the choice of extending the grounding another two weeks for the privilege of going to prom, then making her come home immediately after the dance, perhaps? How egregeous was her offense? Did she end of failing school? Does she have a pending criminal charge as a result? Wonder if she'll forgive them any time soon.
She never so much as hinted at the nature of the infraction, other than to say that it was really, really bad....leaving me to believe she was caught doing something illegal by someone other than law enforcement. Nevertheless, I don't think I could keep my kids from prom, though they would not be attending anything after for sure.
My husband completely disagrees....though maybe gender is coming into play with prom associations and memories.
I can't imagine her ever forgetting this....especially when she has teenagers of her own!
I can't breath from that story.
I know, Amy; but what would you do?
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