Off She Goes. . .
Standing in front of the fireplace, she posed like a model. The smile on her face radiated the excitement she was feeling, and her eyes sparkled with the beauty from her soul.
It took a long time to get to this point. The past three weeks, she has teetered back and forth between wanting to go to Homecoming, yet she dreaded going without a date. The guy she has had a crush on for years asked one of her best friends (who accepted the invitation), and it crushed her. Out of the five girls in her Senior class, only three are chosen to be on Homecoming court, and she wasn't one of them. Her spirits continued to dwindle, and she interpreted everything as a personal slight. Finally, with a lot of encouragement and pep-talks and prayer, she was able to recognize that she didn't need a date to homecoming, nor did she need to be on the court, to still go and have a good time. It was a painful process - and it was hard for me to watch her go through it (as a mom, we want to protect our kids from all different kinds of pain) - but it was something she ultimately had to do on her own. There was a part of her which thought that perhaps she wasn't chosen for a date, or chosen for the court, because of her illness. She has felt, at times, like an "outsider", because her illness has required her to mature well beyond her years. Still, there is this 17 year old child who wants desperately to be "normal". And ultimately, it was her desire to just be "normal" which won out and helped her decide to just go, and to have a good time.
There she stood, looking drop-dead gorgeous, and I wondered if she knew how beautiful she looked - on the outside as well as on the inside. I thought of all the pain she has gone through the past year and a half, all the indignities her body has suffered through - and I thanked God that my "little" girl had the spirit to defy ALL of the odds, and just be a "normal" teenager this evening. I kissed her goodbye with tears in my eyes, and watched as she jumped into her car saying "I love you, Mom". And off she goes. . . ready to embrace whatever this night might bring.
I love you, TP. You bring me so much joy.
6 Comments:
I need a kleenex! You shuold post a picture!!
*should*
Echotig - I still need a kleenex! I am debating about whether or not to post a picture - you'll notice that even my picture isn't on my site - and it has to do with my needing a certain level of anonymity due to my profession. I'll do some more thinking about it, though!
Tyra - I'll do an update tomorrow afternoon or evening!
Val
hmmm...put a black bar over her eyes! You know, like in Glamour magazine's fashion don'ts! At least let us see the dress!
bless her heart! I'm so glad she got to go
Echotig - I am going to try to figure out how to upload the pictures before we leave for our little trip, ok?
Barbara - Thank you for being such a good friend - I loved your comments. Homecoming has many different facets to it - it is usually a week long event at a high school or college campus, which is topped of by a dance at the end of the week where a King and Queen preside over it. The King and Queen are chosen by classmates. There is usally a bonfire on a Thursday evening where the Homecoming court is introduced, and the King and Queen are announced. Friday night is usually the football game, and Saturday night is the dance. They call it "Homecoming" because alumni usually visit their alma mater for some of the activities - and hence, the alumni are "coming home" to visit.
Mrs. D - I've missed you, and hope all is well with you! Thanks for your kind comments!
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