Taking Mom to Senior Prom

My mom was in from out of state for the last five days, her first visit in a few years and first solo visit since my big eye surgeries about six years ago. We had a great time, setting up my house and such, but one of the highlights was taking her to Senior Prom on Saturday at Ravens Stadium. I didn't really want to disrupt my tradition of stopping by Senior Prom to see the students for the last time before graduation, and mentioned it to my mom on a lark; she seemed excited, so the plan was made: we would go to prom.

We only stayed for about an hour, but we were able to see most of the students. This is the first year ever that I taught a class three years in a row - as 9th graders, 10th graders, and 11th graders. They weren't the same students, necessarily, although two students ended up students in my class three years in a row, just an amazing fact to me. If they're screwed up in writing and reading, there's no one to blame but me. Truth be told, I'm only close with one of those students, but seeing her last night was a joy; she is so grown up, and on her way to McDaniel College. The decision was a hard one for her. She requested extensions from both, and just made the final decision on the last possible day last Friday. I think she's nervous (the school is small, white, and isolated, a complete reversal of Baltimore) but excited, and I think she made the right choice.

Prom was fun, the hour or so we stayed. I gave a lot of hugs, ate some crabcakes, saw my baseball players, talked to kids about colleges, and was surprised a little by the musical selections (I know it's a big hit right now, but is "Blame It On the Alcohol" really an appropriate selecton?). And then we were off, me and my prom date, my mom. She had fun, too.