Shall We Dance?

It's prom season. There's a lot of talk among the young people about invitations, dresses, and limosines. "The Prom" has come a long way since I was in high school. In those days, a boy simply called on the phone and asked if you'd like to go. Our mothers made our dresses, and it was not uncommon for a couple to walk to the dance and home again afterward. As each of our children passed through high school "the prom" became more and more complicated and expensive. By the time Quinn was a senior, we offered him a trip anywhere in the continental United States if he didn't go to prom. To us, it seemed easier and probably less expensive. (He didn't accept our offer). Quinn went to high school during the era of the "Creative Ask." Once he went to a girl's home, spread Hershey's kisses on her bedroom floor and put rose petals in her shower. The invitation said, "I've showered you with roses and kissed the ground you walk on. Now will you please go to prom with me!" Another year we were remodeling our bathroom. Quinn kept the old toilet and put it on a girl's porch with an invitation that said, "If you want to go, please go with me." I don't imagine that girl's parents were thrilled about having to dispose of that invitation.

Randy and I may have actually been among the early "creative askers." When our two oldest children were 14 and 15 (old enough to attend, but not old enough to date), we thought it would be fun to "double" with them for the stake Gold and Green Ball. Randy wanted me to think of a special way to invite them. So I bought five cans of soda, labeled them, and delivered them to our neighbor to be "Ding-dong ditched" on our porch. We were eating dinner when the doorbell rang the first time. There on the porch was a can of Squirt labeled "To Kristin and Randy: Hey, SQUIRT, wanna go to the Gold and Green Ball with us?" We never dreamed they wouldn't know from the get-go that it was from us. But there was quite a little conversation about who in the stake might be teaming up to take the two of them. The doorbell rang again. It was a can of Mountain Dew -- "If you want to go, just say "We DEW!" More excitement. The third ring was a can of Orange Crush -- "We'll be CRUSHED if you say no!" Then came "Be ready to go at 7-UP!" By now, Kristin and Randy had combed their hair, brushed their teeth, and changed their clothes in hopes that their suitors were coming back to reveal themselves. Randy and I were rolling our eyeballs at each other. This was not what we had expected. What were we going to do now?! The final can arrived -- "Let's go to dinner first, and we'll pick up the TAB." Kristin looked at Randy and said, "It's probably mom and dad." We had orchestrated the ultimate disappointment. But they went with us, and we actually had a very good time.