This past weekend would have been our son Carter’s Junior Prom. If you ask him if he is upset by not having it due to COVID-19 guidelines and he would tell you, “Nope. Doesn’t bother me at all.”

Prom today is very different from when I went to Prom way back in the late ’80s and 1990.

Prom Then

I was fortunate enough to attend every Prom during my High School years. I attended Micky’s Junior and Senior Proms and he attended mine. In a small town where everyone knows everybody’s business rumors were flying my senior year about when we were going to get married. (That wouldn’t happen for 2 more years.)

The day would start out pretty normal like any Saturday. The guys would be washing and detailing their vehicle of choice to pick up their dates. The girls would either hang out together or just spend it at home. At around 4:00 or 5:00 in the afternoon, we would start getting ready.

My dresses for Prom were all donated by my aunt. Luckily, she was in a few weddings and the purple one was actually her Prom dress. The only dress that my parents bought for me was the pink one for my Senior Prom.

Hair-dos were not as important then as they are today. As you can probably tell, I did my own hair my Freshman and Sophomore years. My best friend’s mom did my hair for my Junior Prom (gotta love the big hair and curls everywhere) and I had my hair french braided for my Senior year. (That one was Micky’s favorite.)

We had a local restaurant serve the meal for all of the attendants with the Sophomores being the wait staff. I was part of the wait staff in my Sophomore year so I had to scramble to change at Micky’s parent’s house before the Grand March.

Once everything was cleaned up from dinner, at 9:00 pm was the Grand March. Everyone was there to watch their children/grandchildren walk down the aisle with their dates. The Juniors picked the theme and they picked the first song. Parents were able to stay for a couple of dances to take pictures and say their goodbyes.

It wasn’t until my Senior year that we had an After-Prom party. It was a Vegas theme with many games to play (I lost big at Roulette) and prizes to win. You could earn money to spend on prizes too. Our two communities really pulled through and donated many items for our After-Prom party.

Prom Today

I have seen (through Facebook) that some girls and guys start getting ready at 10:00 am because they have a photo session with a professional photographer at noon.

Dinner is up to each individual couple. Many get together in groups and go out to dinner together. We have seen couples and groups in many different restaurants this time of year (when there isn’t a pandemic).

The High School our boys go to, there are so many couples, and going through the Grand March is optional. If you want to go through, the couple writes their names down and hands them to a teacher who will put them in the correct order. They then wait their turn to walk down the aisle.

We have DJ’d Prom a couple of years now and it is a bit different from what I am used to. After the Grand March, the dance does not start until ALL of the spectators and family members leave the gym. Sometimes it can be up to a 20-minute wait.

We play music until midnight and the couples head on over to the other gym in the High School for their After-Prom party full of games, prizes, and a hypnotist.

In honor of the Juniors and Seniors of 2020, keep your heads up. Life sometimes throws things at you and it can be upsetting. Change can be a good thing. Be creative celebrating your Prom this year. Still wear your tux and beautiful dresses you picked out in January and take your pictures. Get your friends together and take pictures with them (no more than 10 people please). Have a Prom in your house and Zoom with your friends. It isn’t going to be ideal, but you can still make some memories you will never forget.